How do semiconductor manufacturers use PFCs?
PFC gases are used for both etching intricate circuitry features on silicon wafers and for cleaning chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tool chambers. PFCs are energized and dissociated in plasmas to provide reactive fluorine atoms in the manufacturing tool chambers. In the case of plasma etching, the free fluorine atoms selectively react with and remove insulating and/or conductive materials from the exposed surface of a silicon wafer to create the intricate circuitry patterns found on modern semiconductors. In CVD tool chamber cleaning applications, the fluorine atoms react with and remove excess materials from the surface of the tool chambers themselves.
