Semiconductor industry manufacturers use Teflon™ coatings to
prevent chip and component contamination from airborne particles. In “clean
rooms,” where often no personnel are even permitted, manufacturers coat
equipment parts with Teflon™ coatings to keep any extraneous particles from
entering the manufacturing process.
The high purity and inertness properties of Teflon™ coatings have
several secondary benefits in clean rooms. Teflon™ coatings have superior
reliability, retention, and durability while also preventing contamination of
any kind. Another benefit is that Teflon™ coatings are easy to clean. This is due
to another Teflon™ coating property—“non-wetting.”
Non-wetting means that Teflon™ coatings are both hydrophobic and
oleophobic, making cleanup easier and more thorough. Hydrophobic substances
repel the polar ions in water and resist wetting. The low surface energy of the
coatings means that the cohesive forces in the water are strong enough to make
the water bead up and not spread across the surface of the coating. Oleophobic
means oil molecules are “repelled” from the surface. To be completely accurate,
molecules are not repelled, rather there is a complete lack of any attraction.
PFA
topcoats are also popular for semiconductor factory applications because
of their versatility, abrasion resistance, and purity. PFA topcoats are often used
for coat liquid tanks, liquid nozzles, and semiconductor wafer carriers. The
non-wetting property of Teflon™ coatings is especially important for coating
laboratory glassware, such as beakers and test tubes, in order to minimize
cross-contamination.
Teflon™ coatings also coat less critical semiconductor industry
parts, such as robotic armatures, for corrosion resistance. Popular one-coat
options include the FEP Epoxy
Liquid line that comes in green (954G-304) or black (954G-303). These
coatings resist chemicals and chemical vapors and can be easily cleaned.
