New Analyzer Enables Fast, Precise Airborne Molecular Contamination Monitoring in Semiconductor Fabs

Santa Clara, CA – October 27, 2021 – Picarro Inc., a leading provider of gas concentration analyzers and systems for industrial and semiconductor manufacturing applications, today announced the availability of the SI5450 Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) Analyzer. The analyzer is capable of measuring SO₂ concentrations down to 350 parts-per-trillion (ppt) with a response time of under 30 seconds. With precise, real-time detection of SO₂, semiconductor lithography process engineers can quickly identify an event and immediately take steps to avoid formation of haze on scanner optics and avoid metal corrosion on wafers, minimizing yield loss.

“As device geometries shrink, they become more vulnerable to the numerous sources of chemical contamination in the cleanroom environment, making monitoring more important than ever,” said Kevin Liu, Vice President of Picarro Sales and Marketing, Semiconductor. “The combination of Picarro’s SAM monitoring systems and precise analyzers such as the SI5450 can help semiconductor manufacturers avoid costly contamination incidents.” 

Picarro SAM Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) Monitoring Systems
The SI5450 is an ideal addition to the Picarro SAM chemical contamination monitoring systems. The Picarro SAM-S and SAM-C Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) Monitoring Systems integrate Picarro’s industry leading cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzers into a high-performance sampling system. The SAM-S can be configured to support mobile applications with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and 8 sampling points, and can accommodate up to two Picarro analyzers. The new Picarro SAM-C system can be configured to support up to 32 sampling points and can accommodate up to four Picarro gas analyzers. Both can be paired with Picarro gas analyzers to measure ammonia (NH₃), hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), and now, sulfur dioxide (SO₂), too. 

About Picarro
Picarro is a leading provider of solutions to measure gas concentrations across many scientific and industrial applications. The Semiconductor portfolio provides industry leading solutions for real-time AMC and chemical contaminant monitoring in process chambers. Patented cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) technology offers significant advantages compared with incumbent measurement techniques, such as ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) and ion chromatography. Picarro’s analyzers enable responses to contaminants in the cleanroom in seconds or minutes, not hours. With real-time continuous parts-per-trillion (ppt) level analysis, Picarro analyzers provide early warning of contamination events for contamination monitoring in cleanrooms, FOUP, and fab equipment.

For additional information, please visit semi.picarro.com.

Contact:
Siiri Hage
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Picarro, Inc.
shage@picarro.com