Semiconductor Deposition Cleaning
Ultrahigh-Pressure Waterjet Cleaning of Wafer Process Chamber Components
In semiconductor wafer fabrication, deposition processes such as PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), ECD (Electrochemical Deposition), and ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) are used to apply materials including tungsten, titanium, and copper to wafers. Over time, these same materials accumulate on critical process chamber components such as shields, collimators, clamping rings, and position rings, creating deposits that must be removed during refurbishment.
Ultrahigh-pressure waterjet cleaning removes deposits from semiconductor process chambers regardless of the material involved. Using high-pressure technology and deep cleaning-process know-how, we find the fracture point of the deposit so it can be peeled or fractured away without damaging the part underneath.
The Aquarese CSC Semiconductor Cleaning System, offered by Shape Process Automation, brings this capability to precision-cleaning operations, replacing hazardous chemical cleaning with a faster, cleaner, more sustainable process.
Why Choose Waterjet Deposition Cleaning?
- No base-material removal: Deposits lift away by Liquid Force™ alone, preserving the part and increasing its usable lifetime.
- Shorter processing times: Up to 10x faster than chemical removal, cutting turnaround and cost.
- Recover high-value deposits: The process enables collection of valuable removed material rather than dissolving it into chemical waste.
- Eliminates chemical and manual hazards: No chemical baths, no hazardous manual labor, no pollutants released.
- Preserves surface roughness and critical dimensions: Maintains the base component’s surface characteristics, keeping chamber parts within tight geometric tolerances.
- Flexible single-part flow: Provides greater throughput flexibility than batch chemical processing.
Key Features of Our Deposition Cleaning Systems
Typical applications include removing tungsten from aluminum shields, TiNAl from ceramic clamp rings, and copper from stainless steel position rings — a range of deposit-and-substrate combinations a single waterjet solution can handle. The system is a fully enclosed, robotized waterjet cell designed specifically for semiconductor cleaning requirements and operator ergonomics, with advanced process monitoring that holds performance steady across the entire production cycle. Available as standard solutions or customized to your production needs.
- Fully enclosed, robotized waterjet system built for semiconductor cleaning
- Handles multiple deposit types — copper, gold, tungsten, and more — with one solution
- Removes deposits even when they’re identical to the base material
- Advanced process monitoring throughout the production cycle
- Eco-friendly, with no chemicals or pollutants
How Does UHP Waterjet Cleaning Compare?
| Waterjet | Chemical Baths | |
| Various types of deposits (Cu, Au, W, …) removed by a single solution | Yes | No |
| Preserves the part (no base material removal) | Yes* | No |
| Preserves roughness of base material | Yes* | No |
| Collection of high-value deposits | Yes | No |
| Stable & fully monitored process | Yes | No |
| Single part flow — more flexible production | Yes | No |
| Shorter processing times | Yes | No |
| Generates pollutant/toxic waste | No | Yes |
| Able to remove deposits identical to the base material | Yes | No |
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