" />In semiconductor manufacturing, ultrapure water (UPW) quality is fundamental to process stability, wafer yield, and device performance. As process nodes continue to shrink, even trace amounts of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) can affect sensitive surface chemistries, ultimately impacting overall fabrication throughput.
A leading 12-inch semiconductor foundry in China required a trusted TOC reduction solution capable of supporting multiple UPW process streams across its facility. The site selected Nuvonic’s TOCLine AT UV technology, including both standard and High Performance (HP) systems, to achieve extremely low TOC concentrations while maintaining operational reliability and efficient plant operation.
Installed in November 2023, the systems now operate across several critical UPW treatment loops, consistently delivering sub-ppb TOC performance and demonstrating the scalability of the TOCLine AT platform across a wide range of flows and TOC levels.
Design Challenge
Semiconductor fabrication facilities consume large volumes of ultrapure water for wafer rinsing, cleaning and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While TOC concentrations measured in only a few parts per billion may appear insignificant, even trace organic contamination can affect process consistency and increase the burden on downstream purification steps.
The customer required a solution capable of:
- Achieving reliable reduction of low-level organic contamination
- Maintaining continuous operation
- Minimising operating and maintenance requirements.
- Supporting future production requirements without increasing system complexity.
- High-capacity treatment for multiple UPW process streams.
The Nuvonic Solution
Unlike many industrial water applications, semiconductor UPW systems often need to reduce already-low TOC levels even further. Delivering meaningful TOC reduction at these concentrations requires highly efficient UV technology, precise system design and reliable long-term operation.
Nuvonic supplied three TOC reduction installations within the facility’s UPW infrastructure using a combination of TOCLine AT and TOCLine AT HP systems. Together, the installations treated flows of 40-160 m³/h across both the make-up and polishing loops, exceeding the <1 ppb design requirement despite the presence of urea, a compound that is notoriously difficult to break down.
The Advantage of TOCLine AT HP
- High-efficiency UV technology.
- Up to 40% less lamps per system.
- Reduced maintenance requirements.
- Lower energy consumption.
- Reduced lifecycle operating costs.
- Compact installation footprint.
- Easy to operate.
How TOCLine AT Reduces Organic Contamination
TOCLine AT systems are engineered with specialized low-pressure UV technology, unique reactor geometries, and high-purity quartz materials for optimal TOC reduction in low oxygen, low TOC conditions.
High-energy, low-wavelength UV light photo-oxidizes water molecules, generating highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. These radicals efficiently break down complex organic compounds into carbon dioxide and small ionic byproducts that are then easily removed by downstream vacuum degasification and mixed-bed ion exchange respectively.
This approach enables effective treatment without introducing additional chemicals into the ultrapure water system, making it particularly suitable for semiconductor manufacturing environments where process purity is critical.
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