The Science Behind Exhaust Gas Management
Joe* Van Gompel
Equipment Product Group
The various process manufacturing steps of semiconductors, compound semiconductors, solar panels, and flat panel displays make use of a variety of process gases, many of which are toxic, combustible, explosive, and/or condensable. The technologies and strategies for dealing with both the process gases and the process exhaust byproducts are dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the combinations of these gases, which vary widely based on the process. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to process exhaust management, so the options must be carefully considered. The PDC begins with a survey of the chemistry of a wide variety of common process gases and byproduct gases as it relates to exhaust management, followed by an overview of some of the technologies (water scrubber, dry scrubber, burn-wet, plasma, etc.) that are used in process exhaust management, and then appropriate technologies by process. The PDC concludes with greenhouse gases; why some are more stable than others (e.g. CF4) and some approaches to abatement.