AMCentinel

The AMCentinel is a sensitive real-time analyzer for the semiconductor industry to monitor a broad spectrum of Airborne Molecular Contaminations (AMC) at trace levels:

• FOUP analysis fully integrated with Pfeiffer Vacuum APA 302 FOUP analyzer. 
• Cleanroom monitoring in semiconductor fabs: automated detection of AMC at multiple sampling points in the fab and even at the tool-level. Optionally fully integrated aboard the Pfeiffer Vacuum AMPC analyzer.
• Make-Up Air Unit (MAU) monitoring of intake and filtered air.

The AMCentinel instantly flags residual or spilled solvents, condensables, refractories, and sticky organic acids before they can jeopardize product yield. This robust analyzer is based on IONICON’s PTR-TOFMS series and has been engineered into a compact 19-inch rackmount, including all options for automated operation. 

Built upon extensive field experience and direct customer feedback, the AMCentinel succeeds the industry-proven AMC-Monitor T-1000 by incorporating several key improvements: 

Improved Performance: Together, the INVION and the EVR-X Reaction Chamber significantly enhance the system's operational performance. Exceptional linearity (R² > 0.9999) for complex compounds like PGME and PGMEA, while also enabling the detection of HBr and improving ammonia sensitivity to below 0.1 ppb, are only some of the key advancements. 

Faster Mode Switching: The new INVION ion-source provides cleaner ionization, faster stabilization, and rapid switching between ionization modes, which reduces the recipe cycle time to < 60 seconds. 

Extended Maintenance Intervals: The longer lifetime of the new INVION ion-source, in combination with a larger 1.7 L water reservoir, allows for extended, uninterrupted maintenance intervals. 

Higher TOF Resolution: Upgraded from the previous generation's ~1500 resolution, the AMCentinels TOF 3000 operates at a resolution of > 3500 m/Δm. This allows for an enhanced separation of isobars, minimizes the influence of saturated peaks on adjacent masses, and aids in identifying unknown compounds.

The cornerstone of the AMCentinel is IONICON’s proprietary Automated Measurement and Evaluation (AME) software suite. Operating as an embedded expert system, AME eliminates the operational overhead of mass spectrometry by automated data processing to quantify target species, without the need of a scientific operator. Rather than raw, complex mass spectra, the end-user is provided with immediate concentration outputs via standard industrial protocols like Modbus TCP.  This allows automated operation in different ionization modes and collects a fast amount of data in < 1 minute. 

In combination with the Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass-spectrometer (resolution > 3000 m/Δm), the software is able to extract a wealth of additional data from the measurement, such as Total VOC values, to detect and identify unanticipated and unknown AMCs.

Expect this…

• Simultaneous quantification of several hundred substances in real-time
• Customizable Total VOC values, e.g. by mass-range and/or grouped in knowns and unknows 
• Detection unanticipated compounds and identification of unknown compounds 
• Simple graphical user interface
• Automated: backgroud, QC, and in-process tuning 
• Industrial integration via Modbus TCP
• Remote control and data reporting 
   

Coquand, C., Borde, Y. (2024).
Monitoring of the airborne molecular contamination (AMC) in a semiconductor factory with a PTR-TOF-MS
Contributions to the 9th Int. Conf. on PTR-MS, p. 114–118

Herbig, J., Winkler, K., Herburger, A., Schober, C. (2024).
From Lab to Fab - Enhancing PTR-TOF for Industrial Monitoring
Contributions to the 9th Int. Conf. on PTR-MS, p. 119–123

Kenis, K., Mertens, P., Altamirano-Sanchez, E., Van Ongeval, J. De Vita, M. (imec, Pfeiffer Vacuum) (2023).
Monitoring of Trace Molecular Impurities in Clean-Room Air
Solid State Phenomena, Vol. 346, p. 183–188. DOI: 10.4028/p-BH3umg

Pic, N., Martin, C., Vitalis, M., Calarnou, T., Camlay, D., Grosjean, C., Lanier, A., Kames, J., Acksel, A., Galvez, C. (SPIE, Bellingham, WA 2010) 76380M.
Defectivity decrease in the photolithography process by AMC level reduction through implementation of novel filtration and monitoring solutions
Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXIV, edited by Christopher J. Raymond, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 7638