Abatement of perfluorocompounds (PFC's) in a microwave tubular reactor using O₂ as an additive gas

This paper discusses the abatement of four perfluorocompounds (PFC's) in a microwave tubular reactor - C₂F₆, CF₄, SF₆, and CHF₃. The abatement was carried out using O₂ as an additive gas, and was studied as a function of O₂:PFC ratio, flowrate, power and pressure. Near 100% abatement was achieved for all the PFC's investigated. A detailed characterization of C₂F₆ abatement using GC, GC/MS, and inline Mass Spectrometer showed the major abatement products to be CO₂, COF₂, and F₂. The parameteric dependence of CF₄, SF₆, and CHF₃ abatement was also characterized experimentally. The major products from CF₄ abatement were similar to those from C₂F₆ abatement. Mass Spectroscopy indicated the main products for SF₆ abatement were SO₂F₂, SO₂, and F₂ while those for CHF₃ were CO₂, COF₂, F₂, and HF. Additional experiments indicate that the microwave abatement unit can be successfully used to abate these PFC's in the Integrated Circuit fabrication facilities.