Real-Time Ppt Impurity Detection in Ultra-High Purity Gases for Semiconductor Fabs
ABSTRACT
Semiconductor manufacturing processes rely on ultra-high purity (UHP) gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, and helium to ensure consistent wafer quality and yield. Even trace levels of contaminants—at parts-per-billion (ppb) or parts-per-trillion (ppt) concentrations—can negatively impact device performance, introduce defects, and lead to significant production losses. As device geometries continue to shrink and process complexity increases, the tolerance for gas-phase impurities continues to decrease, driving the need for faster and more sensitive analytical techniques.
BIOGRAPHY
Tony Kou is a Senior Applications Specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific and a global subject matter expert in process mass spectrometry applications. With more than 13 years of experience supporting Thermo Scientific process monitoring technologies, Tony helps evaluate analytical feasibility, measurement strategies, and calibration requirements for process mass spectrometry systems. His background spans application science, business development, field service, analytical chemistry, and biotechnology-focused process monitoring. Tony holds a degree in microbiology from the University of California, Davis.