Chemicals for semiconductors

Kao has been providing a variety of unique cleaning solutions, such as the "CLEANTHROUGH KS-3000" Series of particle cleaning agents for precision parts, including wafers and glass substrates, and the "CLEANTHROUGH KS-7000" series of resist stripping agents for semiconductor processes. Kao also offers a range of rinsing agents for post-CMP cleaning and after silicon wafer polishing, helping to contribute to the improvement of wafer quality by significantly reducing the amount of silica, ceria and other particulate deposits.
 
A large amount of water is used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. In recent years, while semiconductors have become increasingly powerful, also reducing energy consumption, circuit formation has become more complex and the number of fabrication processes has greatly increased due to the miniaturization of semiconductor chips. It goes without saying that in line with this evolution, semiconductors are expected to be incorporated into a variety of social infrastructure and all kinds of products that we use on a day-to-day basis, increasing the need for vast amounts of electricity and water required for cleaning processes.
 
In the manufacture of silicon wafers, cleaning is said to account for approximately 30% of the processes that help to create a flat, low-defect surface that determines the overall quality of the wafer.
Minute contaminant even at the nano-level is not acceptable in the cleaning process of silicon wafers and semiconductors, and in addition to ultra-pure water, a large number of chemicals are used. While there is the concern that strong chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid, ammonia, hydrogen fluoride, and hydrochloric acid may adversely affect wafer quality, they also increase the environmental impact of waste waster and CO2 emissions, which may eventually require drastic structural changes.
The "CLEANTHROUGH KS-2200" Series of pre-cleaning and rinsing agents for silicon wafers has been designed and developed with the aim of making hydrophobic silicon wafer surfaces hydrophilic and effectively removing organic substances and particle contamination. Silica-based abrasives are used in the polishing process before silicon wafers are cleaned and it is estimated that approximately 7 trillion silica particles adhere to one 300 mm wafer. In addition to water, powerful chemicals are used over several cycles to remove particles on the surface of silicon wafers, which have a hydrophobic surface, raising concerns about damage caused to the wafer surface.
We believe that our KS-2200 series can be used to reduce the environmental impact of semiconductor manufacturing processes by reducing the number of cleaning cycles and simplifying the cleaning process, while improving the quality of wafer surfaces by hydrophilizing wafers in an unprecedented way and actively preventing particle adhesion.
 
Kao conducts research into surface science in all kinds of fields relating to mankind, materials and the environment, such as cleaning, and our surface treatment technology is used in leading-edge technologies, while also contributing to the evolution of semiconductor manufacturing technology from an environmental perspective.