Cleaning Procedure for Silicon Wafer Chips

Hamid Hoorzad

1 Cleaning Procedure for Silicon Wafer Chips

1.1 Requirements
1.1.1 Equipment
1. Ultrasonic bath
2. Beaker
3. Glass petri dish
4. 5 mL precision pipette
5. Personal protective equipment (nitrile gloves, safety goggles, lab coat)
6. Nitrogen gun
7. Tweezers
8. Wash bottles (for DI water)

1.1.2 Consumables
1. Silicon wafer chip
2. 20 mL glass vials: 4
3. Pasteur pipette and pipette filler
4. 5 mL precision pipette tip
5. Paper towels
6. Kimwipes

1.1.3 Chemicals
1. Acetone
2. Methanol
3. Isopropanol
4. Sulfuric acid
5. Hydrogen peroxide 30%
6. Deionized water (DI water)

1.2 Procedure
1.2.1 Preparation
1. Put on the personal protective equipment
2. Assure the ultasonic bath has enough water
3. Open the shutoff valve on the nitrogen tank and adjust the regulator to get a gentle flow
4. Label the vials as: Acotone, Methanol, Isopropanol, and Piranha
5. Add 10-15 mL of the respective chemicals to the first three vials

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1.2.2 Acetone
6. Remove a silicon chip from the wafer and place it in the acetone vial
7. Put the vial in the ultasonic bath and program it for 15 minutes
8. Remove the vial from the ultrasonic bath and dry the exterior using a paper towel

1.2.3 Methanol
9. Remove the chip from the acetone vial
10. Immediately put the chip inside the methanol vial
11. Put the vial in the ultasonic bath and program it for 15 minutes
12. Remove the vial from the ultrasonic bath and dry the exterior using a paper towel

1.2.4 Isopropanol
13. Remove the chip from the methanol vial
14. Immediately put the chip inside the methanol vial
15. Put the vial in the ultasonic bath and program it for 15 minutes
16. Remove the vial from the ultrasonic bath and dry the exterior using a paper towel
17. Remove the chip and place it face up on a kimwipe to dry

1.2.5 Piranha
18. Add 7.5 mL of sulfuric acid to the petri dish using pasteur pipette
19. Add 2.5 mL of hydrogen peroxide to the petri dish using precision pipette
20. Immediately place the chip, face up, in the mixture
21. Let it stand for 1-2 minutes
22. Remove the chip and keep it over the beaker using tweezers
23. Rinse the chip thoroughly with DI water

1.2.6 Nitrogen
24. Hold the chip firmly using the tweezers
25. Use the nitrogen gun to dry remaining water

1.2.7 Cleanup
26. Use the pasteur pipette to move piranha from the petri dish to the glass vial
27. Close the vial and let it rest for 24 hours, then discard the contents in the piranha waste bottle
28. Rinse the petri dish and the beaker in the sink
29. Discard acetone, methanol, and isopropanol in the organic waste bottle
30. Wait until the vials, the pasteur pipette, and the pipette tip are dry; then discard them in the appro-
priate waste container (glass or plastic)
31. Shut the main nitrogen valve and operate the gun to remove the remaining nitrogen in the system