Scope of the project
In the semiconductor industry the requirements on surface cleanliness are extreme, often pushing the boundaries of cleaning and detection science. One of the challenges in parts manufacturing is preventing and removing visible stains on metallic surfaces, while staying away from cleaning agents that may later cause outgassing in a vacuum system.
The goal of the project is to identify the (chemical) cause of various types of stains that sometimes occur in a specfic industrial manufacturing process, and to find ways to prevent and/or remove them. Within this topic various sub-projects may be identified, which may branch of into several individual master thesis assignments.
Sub-topics:
A method for reproduction of stains. This means simulating conditions from various manufacturing steps and varying parameters to reproduce stains and determine the sensitivity of stain characteristics to production parameters. This may also require development of a better detection method for stains. The current method is mostly based on visual inspection.
- From observation of stains, different types of stains can be distinguished. How can these be categorized based on root cause and characteristics?
- Which chemical processes are at the root of various kinds of stains, and how can these processes be influenced?
Figure 1: EM image of anodized aluminum Figure 2: Production of aluminum part
Contact:
Prof. Guus Rijnders, CR 3243, a.j.h.m.rijnders@utwente.nl
Prof. Gertjan Koster, CR 3247, g.koster@utwente.nl
Prof. André ten Elshof, CR 3249, j.e.tenelshof@utwente.nl
Inorganic Materials Science Group