Optimization of ionizers in semiconductor equipment

At imec we are currently using Ionizers in a lot of different tools to minimize the chances of ESD (electrostatic discharge). 

The root cause of ESD is a difference in potential (V) between a work part/device and its environment, these are often a result of friction or unintended induced charging of the work part/device (i.e due to cable coils, plasma activation processes, earthing fault of the device...). ESD and charged work parts/devices have two main drawbacks:

1. they can result in a critical damage to electronic devices in case of an ESD
2. a charged surface will attract particles which can compromise processes that are sensitive to surface smoothness and/or contamination

Objectives of the internship

• Optimization of the current ionizers used within our tools (Balance and discharge rate) (practical)
• Follow up on the performance of ionizers over time (performance stability, degradation over time due to needle build-up) (academic/practical)
• Comparison between fan-ionizers and bar-ionizers (academic)
• Comparison between ionizer with and without  airflow (academic)
• Particle comparison between using a well optimized ionizer setup and a (intentionally) badly optimized  ionizer setup, general impact assessment of ionizers (academic/practical)

Type of Project: Internship, Thesis 

Language requirements: English, Dutch

Mentor: Matthias Rogiers

For more information or application, please contact Lan Peng (lan.peng@imec.be)