Fire prevention study of wet bench cleaning stages in semiconductor manufacturing processes-incompatibilities of hydrogen peroxide

According to the research reports from the FM (Factory Mutual) Insurance Company, for the past two decades most of the incidents that occurred in semiconductor plants were identified as “Fire Cases.” These reports claimed the fires in Wet Chemical Cleaning Processes were mainly caused by heater failure, yet, based on the process conditions, a heater is designed to shut down automatically when the temperature exceeds a set point. Therefore, a thorough study on simulations of fires in Wet Chemical Cleaning Processes is necessary. Basically, incidents involving large loss in industry might be initiated by chemical incompatibility. This study focused on the incompatible behaviors of cleaning materials used in Wet Chemical Cleaning Processes. It also attempted to verify the causes of fires in Wet Chemical Cleaning Processes under manufacturing processes in semiconductor plants. The purpose of this study was not only to determine the causes of fires in such processes, but also to study the potential hazards of commonly used chemicals (Hydrogen Peroxide, Concentrated Sulfuric Acid, Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid and Isopropyl Alcohol). Accordingly, this would lead to establishing a concentration triangular diagram, which could be used to identify a combustible, deflagration or even detonation zone. Finally, this study can provide basic design data with a safer approach to avoid potential hazards caused by dangerous mixtures, which may result in large property loss in semiconductor plants.