Trace Gas Analytical Testing

Puricon can verify purity levels of trace amounts of methane, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and non-methane hydrocarbons in N₂, Ar, H₂, O₂ and He systems.

Typical RGA5 applications include:

·         gas manufacturing plant quality control

·         gas distribution system monitoring

·         purifier, valve and other component testing

·         ultra-pure gas research

·         truck load certification

The RGA5 allows for on-site analytical certification of valve manifold boxes, gas cabinets, gas panels and high-purity gas delivery systems. Puricon can also test “live” process helium, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon online, for bulk purifier commissioning and certification.

Sample cylinder capabilities allow for remote analysis which is a cost-effective accurate alternative to standard on-line gas analysis.

Trace Moisture & Oxygen Analytical Testing

Modern semiconductor fabrication involves an intricate series of steps to pattern circuits onto silicon wafers. To make the smallest patterns possible, many of these steps are carried out using gas-surface chemistry so that the reactions can be precisely controlled. Processing steps include sputtering and chemical vapor deposition to deposit metals or dopants, and plasma processing or reactive ion etching to remove material. When moisture is present, the rates of the chemical reactions can change, causing circuit traces to be too thin or too thick. In addition, water vapor accelerates corrosion damage to the pipes which supply the gases to the reactors. Corroded pipes release tiny particles which can also damage semiconductor circuits by causing short-circuits.

The presence of parts-per-billion levels of oxygen in semiconductor process gases such as nitrogen, argon, helium and hydrogen can adversely affect both the manufacturing yields and quality. Oxygen can react with silicon ducting processing, forming undesirable gate oxide growth on the wafer surface that alters the characteristics of the device.

Puricon can verify trace amounts of moisture and oxygen in high-purity gas delivery systems to ensure that point-of-use purity levels meet your specifications. Our instruments let you test for single-digit-ppb specifications quickly and effectively when demanding turnover schedules have to be met. Puricon can provide on-site analytical testing of valve manifold boxes, gas cabinets, gas panels, and high-purity gas delivery systems.

Particle Testing

With the continuing decrease of the minimum feature size of semiconductor integrated circuits to below 0.1 µm, the killer particle size (size of particles that can deteriorate the product yield of a semiconductor integrated circuit) has become several tens of nanometers.

Particle detection at the point-of-use verifies physical particle contamination in high-purity gas delivery systems. Laser or Condensation Nucleus Counter detection levels can be performed on valve manifold boxes, gas cabinets, gas panels, and high-purity gas delivery systems.

Helium Mass Spectrometer Leak Testing

Helium mass spectrometer leak testing is the most sensitive non-destructive test method for confirming system integrity, environmental safety, and product quality.

Because of the many leak testing techniques and the multiple variations of each, leak testing requires more training and knowledge then any of the other testing methods.

Puricon can provide contamination-free leak testing on valve manifold boxes, gas cabinets, gas panels, gas delivery systems, vacuum systems, equipment chamber evacuation and final equipment hook-up point-of-connection helium leak testing.