Buyers Advanced |

SEARCH Articles
Guide Help

CURRENT ISSUE
Sa Save Em Email Pr Printe
April 2003
Monitoring UPW: There's much more than meets the eye

by Marjorie K. Balazs
Correlating data to performance will save time
and money.

Monitoring an ultra-pure water (UPW) system

requires more than just watching meters, tabulating
numbers and looking at charts. BUYERS GUIDE

It takes understanding of each skid and component

and some comprehension of what each test is
saying about overall performance. In general, the more you know what
QUICK VOTE your testing results mean, the higher the probability for continuously
Sponsored by: producing ultra-pure water at the least cost.
To achieve this low-cost goal, everyone responsible for monitoring a
Which area of your UPW system needs to learn more than the basics presented in this article.
pharmaceutical Nevertheless, it is hoped that this article will be sufficient to get an
manufacturing operator started.
facility would pose
the greatest Before we look at monitoring and various testing requirements, we need
vulnerability if the to look at the system itself. UPW systems are made up of three
FDA should show up fundamental parts: the makeup, the re-circulating polishing loop and the
for a surprise distribution to the points of use (POU).
inspection? Click here to enlarge image

Management
The makeup part of
Corrective/preventive the system is where
actions most of the money is
Equipment and spent. The re-
facility controls circulating polishing
loop is your last
Records,
documents and chance to purify the
change controls UPW to meet
specifications. It also
(CFR 21, Part 11)
increases the purity
Material control
level because it has
Design control more sensitive units
Vote in for that purpose.
The POU is what the
View Results Only wafer is being
exposed to and is
frequently different
than what was
NEW FROM measured at the final
CLEANROOMS
filter on the polishing
International loop. There may be a
Cleanroom Forum fourth system if reuse
We have teamed up
of UPW is a part of
with the your system.
International However, this article
Confederation of only concerns itself
Contamination with the basic three systems and take sthem as independent units,
Control Societies although they are certainly interrelated.
(ICCCS) to offer
Cleanrooms.com Each water system has a variety of operating manuals and specifications.
users a direct link to It is important to familiarize yourself with them. If you have a water
the world's most service, you need to talk to it and review the reports it gives you. These
expansive online reports should tell you how the system is functioning.
contamination It is not adequate to only look at the numbers that are on a report form.
control forum. You particularly need to know when and why units or parts of the system
are changed out.
PENNWELL The makeup
CONNECTIONS The makeup portion is the workhorse of the system. It is responsible for
removing almost everything that is in the source water. The better it
performs and the closer it is monitored to make adjustments, the cheaper
the cost of your water and maintenance. Neglecting this part of the
system will only get you into serious trouble. In the makeup portion of
The Magazine for
Electronics Assembly the system we have source water holding tanks, multimedia, chemical-
injection pumps, reverse osmosis, makeup de-ionization, vacuum
degasifiers, ultraviolet lamps, various filters and a makeup holding tank.
Each of these must be monitored. Lack of monitoring in this front end
usually leads to breakdown in water quality, increases in cost to produce
Global Solutions for water and, ultimately, yield problems.
Semiconductor Polishing loop
Packaging The polishing loop contains the polishing de-ionization beds, more
ultraviolet units and refined filters that can include ultra filtration. These
units work in relationship to the makeup portion of the system. Therefore
The Magazine for the if the makeup portion is sending a lot of material to the polishing loop,
Photonics & the chances are high that the polishing loop will pass some of this on to
Optoelectronics the POU. Also, the more material they collect, the shorter their lifetime.
Industry Because the units in the polishing loop are so refined, they are expensive.
If the makeup portion of the system is working well, the polishing
portion should seldom need a change out.
Electronics, Fiber Points of use
Optics and Finally, we have the POU. There are many components in a system that
Embedded Software once removed will not appear again or increase at the POU. These are
for Carrier and things like trihalomethanes, silica, boron and generally metals. The ionic
Enterprise Equipment carbonate concentration can change but other ions like sodium do not.
The biggest difference in the UPW composition at the POU is bacteria
and particle concentrations. Therefore, the POU should be closely
monitored for these contaminants.
The International The number of tests and the monitoring of a UPW system is extensive.
Magazine for They include, but are not limited to, the following:
Semiconductor Source water: TOC, Chlorine, Conductivity, pH, % boron, % silica;
Manufacturing Makeup Loop: Multimedia: TOC, TDS, THM's; Reverse Osmosis:
Feed conductivity, Feed pH, Feed temperature, Concentrate and product
pressure, Concentrate and product flow, Product conductivity, Salt
rejection, Delta P across tubes, Feed/concentrate delta P; Chemical
injection: Rate, Total amount used; De-ionization: %Boron, % Silica,
pH, conductivity, resistivity, Flow, TOC, Bacteria, THM's; Ultraviolet
lights: 185's TOC, 256's Bacteria, Lamp intensity; Filters: Particle count
and size, Bacteria Pressure drop; Polishing loop: DI's Resistivity,
Bacteria, Flow; Ultraviolet Units: Bacteria, Lamp intensity; Filters:
Particles, Pressure drop; Post Final Filter: Resistivity, THM's, Particle
count and size, Bacteria, % Boron, % Silica, Cation and Anion
concentration, Metal concentration; Point Of Use (POU): Particle count
and size, Bacteria, TOC; Other Monitoring Data needed: Total amount
of water supplied to the fab, Daily average used by the fab, Total
dischaged UPW, Check on maintenance schedule, Calibration of On-line
meters.
The monitoring schedule is also important. Generally, there is too little
monitoring, especially of the makeup loop. The units of the makeup loop
need to be monitored daily. Some companies do it weekly, biweekly or
monthly. These time schedules work adequately only if nothing is
changing in the water supply. However, a more frequent testing schedule
allows one to see and understand the variations that occur in source water
during the year. There are major changes in source water depending on
where your supplier is getting the water, after heavy rains and during
droughts or at the end of the summer. By monitoring the source water
frequently, one can determine the load the system can handle and the
schedule for cleaning or replacing units.
As much of the collected data as possible should be graphed. Most UPW
systems have meters that feed data directly to computer systems. This
data can be graphed to immediately show variations from the norm.
These variations should be taken seriously and a follow-up should be
scheduled.
At the time of the occurrence, samples of the water should be taken even
if not immediately analyzed. If the fab incurs yield problems, these
samples can be tested to determine if the water was the cause of the yield
problem. If the anomalies continue to occur, more testing is needed
immediately. These variations, if real, can cause a total yield bust that
will not be recognized until days or weeks later.
To do an adequate job of monitoring, one should walk the system daily.
Look at the meters, listen to the system, look for leaks and constantly
watch for modifications to the system. Be sure that what you see
correlates with what you may find on your computer readout.
In conclusion, monitoring a UPW system is an active job that requires
continual learning about how the system functions as well as its
idiosyncrasies. Correlating data to performance and cost can be
rewarding and, when done properly, can save a company a great deal of
money.
Marjorie K. Balazs is founder and CEO of Balazs Analytical
Laboratory, which has provided analytical services to the semiconductor
industry since 1975. She is also the president of SPWCC (Semiconductor
Pure Water and Chemical Conference), which is in its 21st year. In 1993
she received the SEMI Award for North America and was honored by
President Reagan as an outstanding woman entrepreneur. She has
published over 40 papers that apply to contamination-free manufacturing
in semiconductor processing.
______________________________
Recommended UPW tests
Source water:
TOC
Chlorine
Conductivity
pH
% boron
% silica
Makeup loop:
Multimedia: TOC
TDS
THMs
Reverse osmosis:
Feed conductivity
Feed pH
Feed temperature
Concentrate and product pressure
Concentrate and product flow
Product conductivity
Salt rejection
Delta P across tubes
Feed/concentrate delta P
Chemical injection:
Rate
Total amount used
De-ionization:
%boron
% silica
pH, conductivity, resistivity
Flow
TOC
Bacteria
THMs
Ultraviolet lights:
185s TOC
256s Bacteria
Lamp intensity
Filters:
Particle count and size
Bacteria
Pressure drop
Polishing loop:
DI's resistivity
Bacteria
Flow
Ultraviolet units:
Bacteria
Lamp intensity
Filters:
Particles
Pressure drop
Post final filter:
Resistivity
THMs
Particle count and size
Bacteria
% boron
% silica
Cation and anion concentration
Metal concentration
Point of use (POU):
Particle count and size
Bacteria
TOC
Other monitoring data needed:
Total amount of water supplied to the fab
Daily average used by the fab
Total dischaged UPW
Check on maintenance schedule
Calibration of on-line meters
CleanRooms December, 2001
Author(s) : Majorie Balazs

Search | Contact Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Bookmark This Site | Home
Copyright © 2003 - PennWell Corporation. All rights reserved.