APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR SENSING FLUORO SPECIES IN SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING SYSTEMS

摘要

A gas detector (54) and process for detecting a fluorine-containing species in a gas containing same, e.g., an effluent of a semiconductor processing tool undergoing etch cleaning with HF, NF3, etc. The detector in a preferred structural arrangement employs a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based device structure and/or a free-standing metal element (8) that functions as a sensing component and optionally as a heat source when elevated temperature sensing is required. The free-standing metal element can be fabricated directly onto a standard chip carrier/device package (6) so that the package becomes a platform of the detector.