Use of Drop-on-Demand Inkjet Printing Technology to Produce Trace Metal Contamination Standards For the Semiconductor Industry.

The feasibility of using piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet printing technology to produce trace metal contamination standards on silicon wafers has been demonstrated. Prototype standards of Fe and Cu contamination with surface concentrations between 1013 atoms/cm2 and 1015 atoms/cm2 have been produced using a piezoelectric inkjet printer. Preliminary secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurements show that secondary ion intensities are linear with respect to concentration. The success of these preliminary experiments has prompted further work that is currently underway to prepare additional elements at concentrations ranging from 107 atoms/cm2 to 1015 atoms/cm2 for characterization by both SIMS and total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]