Simultaneous qualitative analysis of volatile and nonvolatile organic contamination on silicon wafer by online pyrolysis mass spectrometry

This paper presents a new analytical setup that aims for a qualitative analysis of both volatile and nonvolatile organic contamination simultaneously from one whole silicon wafer. The aim was to develop a screening method that can be used for the identification of the source(s) of organic contamination for quality control in the manufacturing process. The model compounds used in the analysis were a solvent (toluene), a photoresist, and a resist stripper solution. The instrumental setup consisted of a heatable chamber for sample handling and an online mass spectrometer for detection. The organic contamination could be directly desorbed from the surface of the silicon wafer (volatile organic components) or pyrolyzed/desorbed from the surface in air atmosphere at elevated temperature (nonvolatile components), and consequently detected by the mass spectrometer. The mass spectra and the ion chromatograms obtained by the mass spectrometer during the heating of the silicon wafer can be used for the identification of all organic compounds on the silicon wafer and thus, for the identification of a possible source of contamination.