Preliminary Survey Report: Control Technology for Gallium Arsenide Processing at Microwave Semiconductor Corporation, Somerset, New Jersey

摘要

The technology available to control hazardous substances in gallium-arsenide (1303000) applications is reviewed and evaluated in light of findings from a visit to the Microwave Semiconductor Corporation (SIC-3674) in Somerset, New Jersey. The facility has 500 employees, 64 in the gallium-arsenide technical staff. Direct ion implantation or epitaxial growth, photolithography, plasma etching, and backside wafer processing are used at the facility to fabricate a gallium-arsenide wafer. Hazards exist primarily in the numerous solvents, acids, and gases employed in wafer production. These include chlorobenzene (108907), methanol (67561), methyl-ethyl-ketone (78933), methyl-isobutyl-ketone (108101), ammonia (7664417), and silane (7803625). The use of arsine (7784421) gas will soon begin at the facility, which will also be hazardous to employees due to its extremely toxic properties. An environmental engineer tests for 70 hazardous chemicals in the work area, including hydrogen-fluoride (7664393), cyanide (57125), phosgene (75445), ammonia, formaldehyde (50000), arsine, and phenol (108952). The authors recommend the establishment of a program for air sampling to monitor arsenic levels and wipe sampling for arsenic surface contamination.