Some of the common metalorganics used in semiconductor manufacturing are:

• Trimethylaluminum – TMAL

Precursor for solar cells and silicon substrate semiconductor production

• Trimethylgallium – TMGa

Precursor for the compound semiconductor industry

• Triethylgallium – TEGa

Precursor for the compound semiconductor industry

• Trimethylindium – TMIn

Precursor for the compound semiconductor industry

• Dimethylzinc – DMZn

Precursor for the compound semiconductor industry

• Diethylzinc – DEZn

Precursor for thin film solar cells and silicon substrate semiconductor production

• Bis(cyclopentadienyl)magnesium – Cp2Mg

Precursor for silicon substrate semiconductor production

Trimethylaluminium

Chemical & Physical Properties

Hazard identification

Classification of the substance or mixture
Pyrophoric liquids, Category 1
Substances and mixtures, which in contact with water, emit flammable gases, Category 1
Skin corrosion, Category 1B

Metalorganic Fire Safety

Many of the metalorganic chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing are pyrophoric. Pyrophoric materials react with exposure to oxygen, and will ignite when they contact water or air.  Pyrophoric liquids, solids and gases are materials that may ignite or react violently when exposed to air. These chemicals do not require an ignition source other than oxygen. They can erupt into violent flame, simply by introducing them into an oxygen-rich environment. They must be stored and handled in hermetically sealed containers or in inert (non-reactive) gas environments such as atmospheres of argon or nitrogen. Class D fire extinguishers are NOT capable of dealing with pyrophoric fires. Pyrophoric fires can be temporally be smothered, but will react immediately upon renewed exposure to oxygen.

SEMI EHS guidelines mandate extreme caution in the storage and handling of pyrophoric materials in semiconductor manufacturing. There are strict guidelines for safe use of these energetic materials, including a recommendation for utilizing a leak containment and abatement system (LCAS) to safely monitor safe containment of bulk chemistries, and to robustly abate all bulk chemical supply leak scenarios.

Specialized Metalorganic Safety Expertise

If your EHS concerns include the proper storage and handling of metalorganic chemistries, know that KFPI shares a common goal of preventing global semiconductor EHS hazardous events. Please feel free to reach out to us with any of your questions or safety requirements involving metalorganic chemistries.

System Justifications

The basic reasons for this fire safety system design choice is as follows:

• No fire codes or industry standards require utilization of a lockout valve in a fire suppression system.
• A disable switch functions as reliably and robustly as a lockout valve, in providing the basic safety function of disabling the discharge capability of a fire suppression system during maintenance.
• A lockout valve requires secondary components to be installed, in order to comply with applicable codes – Specifically: pressure switches and pressure relief valves. (Pressure switches and pressure relief valves are required by code to be present when a lockout valve is installed.)

Applicable fire and semiconductor industry codes:

NFPA 12 2011 – Occupiable vs. Unoccupiable

• Occupiable = “If enclosure/space has dimensions such that it could be entered by a person.” (3.3.8)
• Unoccupiable = “If enclosure/space has dimensions such that it could NOT be entered by a person.” (3.3.12)
• Required except where dimensional constraints prevent personnel from entering the protected space. (4.3.3.4)
• Required where CO2 can migrate, creating hazard to personnel. (4.3.3.4.1)

OSHA (1910.147(a)(2)(ii)) – Control of Hazardous Energy

• “Energy Isolating Device” is required where any part of his or her body can be “harmed”…
• HPCO2 “Hazardous Energy” Discharge is NOT Hazardous to Personnel . ***

(***Otherwise All Pressurized Gases Would Have Same Requirements – Such as FM-200, Inert Gases, Halon, Sprinkler.)

• HPCO2 Asphyxiation Hazard / Toxic Gas Hazard
• OSHA Energy Control Not Applicable
• Default to NFPA Requirements

NFPA 12-2011 Classification As Occupiable Means:

1. Lockout Valve Must Be Installed (4.3.3.4)

2. Must Be Electronically Supervised (4.5.5)

• Pressure Switch Installed Between Supply and Lockout Valves (4.5.4.13.1)

3. Pressure Relief Valve is Required Upstream of Lockout Valve (4.7.2.3)

• Operate 2400-3000 psi (4.7.2.3.1)

4. Pneumatic Operated Controls Are Required (4.5.6.1)

• Time Delay Device Must Be Installed
• Predischarge Audio / Visual Alarm Notification Must Be Installed Within Each Enclosure

Applicable Codes and Lockout Valve Use – Conclusion:

Most Tool Protected Areas Are Un-Occupiable and Lockout Valve(+) is Not Required

• Lockout Valve Has Negative Effects On Tool Uptime
• Installed Remote From Tool in SubFab/Chase
• Creates Pressurized Entrapment Exposure (Overpressure)
• Lockout Valves Are Not Used
• Remove Actuators During Service

Service Disconnect Switch

When a Service Disconnect/Disable Switch is Required

SEMI S2 (14.4.5.10)

• Allowance for deactivation of automatic discharge of the suppression system when in the maintenance mode.
• Such deactivation switches should be supervised. (14.4.5.10)

NFPA 12 (4.5.4.12)

• For electrically operated systems, a service disconnect switch shall be provided to allow the system to be tested without actuating the fire suppression system. The service disconnect switch, when operated, shall interrupt the releasing circuit to the suppression system and shall cause a supervisory signal at the suppression system releasing panel.
• A Lockout Valve Can Act As “Service Disconnect Switch”
• Many Times This is NOT Wired Correctly.
• A Key Disconnect/Disable Switch is NOT “In Lieu” of Lockout Valve.
• May Qualify as “Energy Isolation Device” per OSHA.

Conclusion

KFPI will install or maintain lock out valves that have been designed into fire suppression systems. KFPI will insist that all systems with lock out valves have been installed per code. If missing components such as pressure switches and pressure relief valves are missing, KFPI will insist on installing these with any fire suppression systems that use lock out valves. KFPI will only install fire suppression systems that comply with all applicable codes. Lockout valves are more expensive than disable switches, are more complicated, and perform the same service function. KFPI recommends the use of disable switches over lockout valves.

Typically, fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel – wood or gasoline, for example. Of course, wood and gasoline don’t simple catch on fire just because they’re surrounded by oxygen. For a combustion reaction to happen, you have to have an ignition source. An ignition source can be from things like lighting a match, a spark, a lightning strike, or just raising the fuel source to its ignition temperature. These three basic things make up the Fire Triangle : fuel, oxygen, and ignition.

Wood Fire

Arguably, one of the most pondered questions throughout human history, is why wood burns. It is not magic, as you may have believed in the past. Here is the most common sequence of events in a typical wood fire: Something heats the wood to a very high temperature. When the temperature of the wood reaches about 150 degrees Celsius, the heat decomposes some of the cellulose material from which the wood is formed. Some of this decomposed material is released as volatile gases. (We call these gases “smoke”.) Wood smoke is comprised of various compounds of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. The remaining material forms char, which is nearly pure carbon, and ash – which is all of the unburnable minerals in the wood such as calcium, potassium, etc. When wood is burning, the wood is not actually burning, it is being heated until gases are released, and the gases are burning.

Burning

When the volatile gases coming from heated wood are hot enough (about 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C) for wood), the compound molecules break apart, and the atoms recombine with oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide, and other byproducts. We refer to this as “burning”. Different fuels ignite and burn at different temperatures

Heat

A side effect of the chemical reactions taking place in a fire, is a lot of heat. The fact that the chemical reactions in a fire generate new heat, is what sustains a fire. Different fuels burn at different temperatures, have different byproducts, and have different flame signatures, but they all produce heat. Once there is sufficient heat, fire is self-sustaining until the fuel or oxygen is depleted.

Different Fuels Mean Different Fires

Different flammable fuels catch fire at different temperatures. It takes a certain amount of heat energy to change any particular material into a gas, and even more heat energy to trigger the reaction with oxygen to produce fire. The necessary heat level varies depending on the nature of the molecules that make up the fuel type. The piloted ignition temperature of a fuel is the heat level required to form a gas that will then ignite when exposed to a spark. At the unpiloted ignition temperature, which is much higher, the fuel ignites without a spark.

Fire Good?

In a Semiconductor Cleanroom – Fire Bad!

Semiconductor Fuel Sources

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, there are many types of potential fuel sources for a fire. There are diverse process chemistries that all present differing fire risks and differing fire characteristics. Typically, in a semiconductor manufacturing operation, there are hydrocarbon-based fuel sources, Silane-based fuel sources, and Hydrogen-based fuel sources. All of these potential fuel types have different piloted and unpiloted ignition temperatures, different gaseous outputs during a fire, different light signatures when burning, and different extinguishing requirements. There are also many pyrophoric chemicals, such as metalorganics, in common use. These chemicals do not require an ignition source, other than exposure to oxygen.

Due to the high safety risk factor of semiconductor chemistries, and the large threat that fire poses to personnel life safety, potential equipment and facility damage, as well as potential production disruption, fire safety in semiconductor manufacturing should be left for experts to handle.

Materials passing the cleanroom protocol, subsequently, can be listed in the Approval Guide, a publication of FM Approvals. Materials that have been approved by Factory Mutual FM-4910, and have been certified include:

• Most Common
  • PVC-C Polyvinylchloride
  • PVDF
• Others
  • CP7-D Polypropylene
  • Takiron PVC and CPVC
  • Boltaron PVC
  • Halar

Non-FM4910 Plastic is a Fire Hazard

Plastic wet benches that are made from FM4910-compliant materials, and use flammable chemicals in the process, require fire safety systems that are code compliant. Wet benches that are made from materials that are non-FM4910 compliant, require proper fire safety systems, even if the chemicals in use are not flammable. The non-FM4910-compliant material is itself a fire safety hazard that requires proper EHS protocols. If you have a wet bench that is not made from FM4910 compliant material, then you need a fire detection and suppression system for that tool.

Preventing Cleanroom Contamination is a Paramount Goal

Contamination of cleanrooms of any kind can be catastrophic and contamination caused by fire and smoke is some of the worst. FM-4910 designation is given to a material that has passed the Factory Mutual test for fire propagation, and smoke density. The contamination caused to other processes and equipment in neighboring areas of a plastic bench fire, was the driving concern behind the FM-4910 designation. Increasing insurance costs to protect manufacturers in the event of fire and mass contamination are expensive and have driven the construction of wet benches to use less flammable materials to reduce the fire hazards already prevalent in wet bench processes. Nevertheless, there are many wet benches still in daily production use that are made from flammable plastic.

A Filthy Foe!

If you’ve ever seen plastic burn, then you know that it is dirty and dangerous. Once plastic starts burning, it REALLY burns. Aside from the obvious life safety concerns, process disruption, and potential equipment damage, even a small plastic fire in a clean room can cause BIG damage. The amount of particulates in just a small and brief plastic fire can quickly contaminate a clean room so severely as to force a complete shutdown of clean room operations.

Flammable Plastic Benches Require Fire Protection

Regardless of the type of chemistry you are using in your plastic wet station, if the plastic is not FM 4910 compliant, it poses a significant fire hazard and must be protected with a suitable fire detection and suppression system. Non-4910 plastic is a potential fuel for a fire in your clean room.

While most semiconductor wet tools are now constructed from FM 4910 compliant materials, there are many non-4910 plastic benches still used in production. These potential fuel sources for fire need to be factored into your operation’s safety strategy. When protected by a properly-designed and installed fire suppression system, this type of tool can be safely integrated into your production.

A fire requires a combination of three elements to ignite and remain burning: fuel, oxygen, and an ignition source. The oxygen provides a fire-friendly environment, the fuel will burn, and the ignition source will cause the fuel to ignite. Ignition sources include hot surfaces, electricity (including static electricity), flames, and sparks.

Fire Safety Systems for Flammable Plastic Benches

Fire safety systems for any semiconductor process equipment should be custom-designed to meet the specific safety requirements of the tool which is to be protected. Some of the most basic parameters that must be factored into the specifications of a process tool fire safety solution include the types and amounts of chemistry present in the process, the area of the potential fire hazard, the exhaust rates present at the tool, and the material of the tool construction. If the tool is made of flammable plastic, then care must be taken to design a fire safety system that not only effectively extinguishes a fire, but robustly limits to a minimal amount the smoke particles which could be released in the event of a fire. Fire extinguishment is only one of the desired functions of a wet tool fire safety system in a cleanroom. Protecting the tool and the cleanroom from costly downtime is also a paramount concern to weigh when designing the proper fire safety solution.

Typically, a fire detection and suppression system for a wet process tool consists of the proper detection methodology to watch for the presence of a flame. Usually, this involves a suitable flame detector, capable of identifying the flame signature of a potential fire. (The type of flame signature will depend on the kind of fuel which is burning.) In situations where there is little to no tolerance for smoke contamination, a high-sensitivity smoke detector might be used to sniff for minute traces of smoke. The most common type of fire suppression agent used to protect semiconductor equipment is compressed CO2 gas. Fires are quickly and robustly smothered. The CO2 gas leaves no trace chemistry or particulates on the equipment, product, or in the cleanroom.

Fire safety systems that are used in any semiconductor operation should be designed specifically to meet semiconductor standards. All equipment used in such systems should be FM approved and meet all NFPA codes applicable to this type of application. Fire safety systems intended for use on semiconductor equipment should be designed, installed, and certified by semiconductor fire safety experts. If you have any questions about your semiconductor equipment fire safety needs, please let KFPI know your concerns. We are always happy to make the semiconductor world safer.

Our Minimum Standards are the Highest Standards

KFPI has a keen understanding of the requirements of high-technology manufacturing fire safety. All fire safety solutions and products provided by KFPI, meet or exceed all relevant fire safety codes, including NFPA, SEMI, and FM Global standards.

Customized Fire Safety Solutions

We understand that a semiconductor manufacturer’s job is to develop that devices that make our electronic world turn. We also know that fire safety systems are generally viewed by many end users as a headache, a necessary headache, but pain just the same! At KFPI, our job is fire safety solutions. This is what we do, and do well. At KFPI, we like to be challenged. Bring us your problems! Bring us your biggest problems! Every high-tech fire safety solution we design is custom-made for the unique specifications of the process and process equipment that it is meant to protect. The more daunting the task, the more we relish rolling up our sleeves and coming up with a solution. When it comes to the safety of your process equipment, don’t settle for mediocrity.

Fire Safety Solutions for Semiconductor Process Equipment

KFPI specializes in designing, installing, and supporting fire safety solutions which are tailored for specific process tools and processes. KFPI has expertise in solution designs for every major make of semiconductor process equipment.

• Wet Benches
• Ion Implanters
• Photolithography Steppers / Scanners / Lasers
• Coaters
• Stockers
• Furnaces
• Chemical Distribution Cabinets
• Track Tools

KFPI Semiconductor Fire Safety Expertise

KFPI employs licensed, factory trained, NICET certified, and clean room qualified professionals to work in your facilities. Our Project Managers & Field Engineers work closely with the tool engineers to minimize tool downtime by expediting tool installations inside the clean room. KFPI staff has an average tenure of 20+ years in the semiconductor industry, and we ensure our installations are to the highest degree of quality and efficiency. .

Our Service Includes:

• Installations
• Inspections
• Audits

Achieving Global Compliance

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that different states, provinces, and nations have disparate codes which regulate fire safety systems on semiconductor process equipment. It is not enough to design a system that adheres to SEMI S02, NFPA , CE, and FM Global requirements. System design and selection of fire safety system components that can be used anywhere in the world where the process equipment might be used, is really important. A bit of forethought saves a lot of headaches in the long term. What use is a CO2 fire suppression system in a country where the CO2 cylinders used in the design, and illegal and unavailable? What happens when your equipment that has compliant safety systems in one country, is moved to another country with different requirements? Without overwhelming you with hypothetical scenarios, suffice it to say, the right planning up front saves a lot of trouble and cost later.

Diverse Fire Safety Products

KFPI provides a wide range of fire safety products that have been tested and evaluated for compliance and performance in critical, high-tech equipment and processes.

TraceTek Leak Detection Systems
CO2 Fire Suppression Systems
Clean Agent Fire Suppression Systems
Flame Detectors
Vesda – High-Sensitivity Smoke Detectors

The LCAS Fire Safety System for Semiconductor Metalorganics

One of the semiconductor industry fire safety concerns that KFPI has recently addressed, is the need for a practical fire safety solution for the pyrophoric metalorganic compounds which are used with increasing volume by semiconductor manufacturing processes. KFPI developed a revolutionary fire safety leak containment and abatement system, the LCAS – an add-on safety device for metalorganic storage and delivery systems. The KFPI LCAS monitors bulk distribution systems for pyrophoric metalorganic materials, and in the event of a leak, safely contains and abates the metal organic material without fire, smoke, or particulate damage to semiconductor tools, processes, or clean rooms. Metalorganic leaks in semiconductor facilities no longer need to be considered catastrophic scenarios.

Customized Globally-Compliant Fire Safety Systems

We design, install, and certify fire safety systems that are custom engineered for the specific tool upon which they are to be used. KFPI’s fire safety solutions are guaranteed to function as intended, and to comply with SEMI, NFPA, FM, and all local fire safety requirements, anywhere in the world. Our company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, but we maintain global teams of semiconductor fire safety technical experts who provide expertise in installing, testing, and certifying fire safety systems for semiconductor customers anywhere their manufacturing is located. Wherever your challenges are, KFPI will be there to help carry the load.

Reliable Fire Safety for Semiconductor Processes

Reliable fire safety for semiconductor processes is a goal that every stakeholder in semiconductor manufacturing should share. A lot of great people have dedicated themselves to this challenge over the years, and have built us a legacy of precious knowledge and robust tools. From meaningful fire safety codes, to proper equipment designs and specifications, a lot of wisdom goes into a dependable fire safety solution for semiconductor equipment. However, the real measure of dependability occurs on the front lines, at the point of use. Making sure the correct fire safety solution is installed and functioning correctly is paramount to providing the level of safety that critical semiconductor processes require.

Most people would not let an untrained and unskilled person perform dental work or a medical procedure on them, or let an amateur build their house or repair their car. The stakes are too high, and the price of failure too great to consider! Why then would anyone even consider using an untrained individual to install and certify a fire safety system for a semiconductor process tool? Trust the premier semiconductor fire safety experts with your requirements!

KFPI (Koetter Fire Protection International) is a semiconductor fire safety company, 100% dedicated to semiconductor and related high-tech manufacturing process fire safety. Our global team is comprised of semiconductor experts who bring a diverse range of semiconductor technical expertise and a valuable depth of semiconductor process experience. We focus on the small but critical industry niche of fire safety for process tools. KFPI does not manufacture fire suppression equipment. We use the best quality components in our designs of custom-engineered fire safety systems for semiconductor process tools.

The KFPI Experience

KFPI employs licensed, factory trained, NICET certified, and clean room qualified professionals to work in your facilities. Our Project Managers & Field Engineers work closely with the tool engineers to minimize tool downtime by expediting tool installations inside the clean room. KFPI staff has an average tenure of 20+ years in the semiconductor industry, and we ensure our installations are to the highest degree of quality and efficiency. KFPI’s global service teams, along with strategic partners around the world, can handle your global needs consistently from site to site. We work with our partners to ensure global compliance and service that exceeds our customer’s needs.

KFPI employs licensed, factory trained, NICET certified, and clean room qualified professionals to work in your facilities. KFPI is internationally recognized as the proven leader in the semiconductor industry. KFPI understands that the cleanroom environment is unique in today’s manufacturing, and the requirements for cleanliness, performance, and business continuity are critical to the success of any semiconductor operation. KFPI is 100% dedicated to solutions for clean room manufacturing, including semiconductor, LCD-TFT, FPD, and photovoltaic, with services and support worldwide.

Don’t Fake Safety!

Do yourself a huge favor and perform proper periodic inspections on your fire safety systems. We don’t mean “walk around with a clipboard, signing off a paper so that you comply with the rules”. We mean, perform proper periodic inspections to determine the integrity of every potential failure point in your system. And, what’s the point of having somebody who doesn’t really know what they are doing, decide if your fire safety system is working or not? Considering what’s at risk in even a small fire in semiconductor process equipment, the price of an updated fire solution is minuscule compared to the severe cost of production downtime.

KFPI has expertise in design, engineering, consulting, installation, maintenance, repair, and certification of semiconductor equipment fire protection systems. Our experience includes protection of new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) tools, and retrofit of end user tools, with individual and complex bulk protection systems. All of our fire protection systems are designed with the end user in mind, to ensure compliance and protection adequacy, along with reliability, performance, and longevity.

The KFPI Experience

KFPI employs licensed, factory trained, NICET certified, and clean room qualified professionals to work in your facilities. Our Project Managers & Field Engineers work closely with the tool engineers to minimize tool downtime by expediting tool installations inside the clean room. KFPI staff has an average tenure of 20+ years in the semiconductor industry, and we ensure our installations are to the highest degree of quality and efficiency. KFPI’s global service teams, along with strategic partners around the world, can handle your global needs consistently from site to site. We work with our partners to ensure global compliance and service that exceeds our customer’s needs.

KFPI employs licensed, factory trained, NICET certified, and clean room qualified professionals to work in your facilities. KFPI is internationally recognized as the proven leader in the semiconductor industry. KFPI understands that the cleanroom environment is unique in today’s manufacturing, and the requirements for cleanliness, performance, and business continuity are critical to the success of any semiconductor operation. KFPI is 100% dedicated to solutions for clean room manufacturing, including semiconductor, LCD-TFT, FPD, and photovoltaic, with services and support worldwide.