Apparatus and process for sensing fluoro species in semiconductor processing systems
First Claim
1. A gas sensor assembly comprising a micro-hotplate structure including a free-standing gas sensing element responsive to presence of fluoro species by response indicative of presence or increase in concentration of said fluoro species, the sensing element including at least a portion that is spatially separated from and structurally unsupported by the micro-hotplate structure.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A gas detector and process for detecting a fluorine-containing species in a gas containing same, e.g., an effluent of a semiconductor processing tool undergoing etch cleaning with HF, NF3, etc. The detector in a preferred structural arrangement employs a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based device structure and/or a free-standing metal element that functions as a sensing component and optionally as a heat source when elevated temperature sensing is required. The free-standing metal element can be fabricated directly onto a standard chip carrier/device package so that the package becomes a platform of the detector.
398 Citations
23 Claims
- 1. A gas sensor assembly comprising a micro-hotplate structure including a free-standing gas sensing element responsive to presence of fluoro species by response indicative of presence or increase in concentration of said fluoro species, the sensing element including at least a portion that is spatially separated from and structurally unsupported by the micro-hotplate structure.
- 6. A gas sensor assembly comprising a free-standing gas sensing element coupled to connector pins of a microelectronic device package, wherein the free-standing gas sensing element is arranged for contact with a gaseous environment susceptible to the presence or change of concentration of one or more target gas species therein, and the free-standing gas sensing element is formed of a material that in exposure to the target gas species exhibits a response transmissible through said connector pins of the microelectronic device package.
Specification