PHOTOCATALYTIC OXIDATION FOR POINT-OF-USE ABATEMENT OF VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS IN MICROELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING

In gas-solid heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), volatile or ganic compounds (VOCs) present in process air or air vents can be rapi dly and completely oxidized to innocuous by-products over a near-ultra violet (UV) illuminated titanium dioxide thin film catalyst at room te mperature. This class of advanced oxidation processes appears to be we ll-suited for point-of-use VOC abatement in the microelectronics manuf acturing industry. In this article, we review industrial requirements and unresolved technical issues in the context of the recently publish ed Semiconductor Industry Association roadmap. The specific requiremen ts for VOC abatement from a typical photolithography track are present ed. Bench-scale PCO kinetics for target VOCs are reviewed to demonstra te the typical process behavior expected. (C) 1995 American Vacuum Soc iety.