Hazardous Materials
Many toxic materials are used in the fabrication process. These include:
- poisonous elemental dopants such as arsenic, antimony and phosphorus
- poisonous compounds like arsine, phosphine and silane
- highly reactive liquids, such as hydrogen peroxide, fuming nitric acid, sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid
It is vital that workers not be directly exposed to these dangerous substances. The high degree of automation common in the IC fabrication industry helps to reduce the risks of exposure of this sort. Most fabrication facilities employ exhaust management systems, such as wet scrubbers, combustors, heated absorber cartridges etc., to control the risk to workers and also the environment if these toxic materials are released into the atmosphere.
Read more about this topic: Semiconductor Device Fabrication
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