Role of new materials in enhancing productivity of semiconductor manufacturing equipment

A variety of new materials and improvements on currently used materials is given to show how the manufacturing productivity of semiconductor equipment is enhanced. With an initial introduction of seals and their elastomers, the materials representing mechanical parts of the systems are reviewed. Through a number of newly developed manufacturing techniques, the mechanical parts´ performance is improved yielding higher uptime and especially improved particle levels. It is noted that extended use of currently available materials is possible thus addressing the need for cost reduction of current equipment.