[labnetwork] Cl2, BCl3 and Silane sensors for toxic gas monitoring

[John Nash]

All,
According to SEMI S2 and S4, you should follow all Federal, State and Local requirements. Federal and state are typically the same requirements set by OSHA, NFPA and other applicable Federal entities. Local would be your county, town, village and EHS departments. Don't forget to consult with your insurance carrier as well.

Here at RIT, our toxic lines are all double wall with an N2 push from the tool end before entering into the tool gas box and pushes N2 back to the gas cabinet. Our gas cabinets (bottle and regulator area), tool gas box (tool valves and distribution piping) and the operator area are all monitored. Except for the operator areas all sense lines are in the exhaust ducts of the appropriate areas.

Our Silane and Ammonia systems are a bit different because they go to a VMB (valve manifold box). The N2 push is set up there and pushes to the gas cabinet as well as to each tool. This also aids in determining where leaks may be if a detection occurs.

I understand this seems excessive and expensive but it is way cheaper than a law suit.

I am not a lawyer nor up to date on all regulations or laws. This email is simply stating what I considered when deciding on what to do.

Have a great day.
Regards,

John C Nash
SMFL - Technician
Rochester Institute of Technology
Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory
82 Lomb Memorial Dr.
Bldg. 17-2627
Rochester, NY 14623

585-626-8930
john.nash at rit.edu<mailto:john.nash at rit.edu>
www.smfl.rit.edu<http://www.smfl.rit.edu/>

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> On Behalf Of Aju Jugessur
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2023 12:48 PM
To: Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: [labnetwork] Cl2, BCl3 and Silane sensors for toxic gas monitoring

Hi all,

We have ICP etcher and PECVD that use toxic gases such as Cl2, BCl3 and Silane. The exhausts from the pumps are connected to a scrubber and ph neutralization/acid waste system.

I am reaching out to get some advice on the specific locations of the Honeywell Midas sensors that we use, to detect any gas leak at the etchers and toxic gas monitoring system. We have sensors at the gas cabinets and ambient sensors at the tools.
However, there seems to be a disagreement between our design team and our EHS unit. The design team recommends having the sensors in the gas pods, where the leaks are most likely to occur. EHS would like to have the ambient sensors at the tools, in the breathing zone areas. As per local code requirements, sensors in the gas pods satisfies the safety requirements.

I would like to know what your set-up of the sensor locations for similar instruments is that you may have in your facility.
Any insights based on experience will be super helpful.

Thanks so much,
Aju


Aju Jugessur Ph.D. IEEE Sr. Member
Director, Colorado Shared Instrumentation
in Nanofabrication and Characterization (COSINC) Facility
Member of Inclusive Culture Council (ICC)
University of Colorado Boulder | College of Engineering & Applied Science
4001 Discovery Drive, N360G SEEC | Boulder, CO 80303| P: 303.735.5019
E-mail: aju.jugessur at colorado.edu<mailto:aju.jugessur at colorado.edu>
Personal Zoom link: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/my/ajugessur
www.colorado.edu/facility/cosinc<http://www.colorado.edu/facility/cosinc>
(MBA candidate, CU, Class of 2023)

[signature_804197951]

Signature-Strengths: Focus, Activator, Futuristic, Strategic, Achiever
(CliftonStrengths)


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/attachments/20230116/a937d7af/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 6301 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/attachments/20230116/a937d7af/attachment.png>