| HS Code | 468713 |
| Product Name | Stripper (IC-Al process) Electronic/EL Grade |
| Product Type | Photoresist stripper |
| Application | Aluminum metallization IC fabrication |
| Grade | Electronic/EL |
| Appearance | Clear liquid |
| Color | Colorless to slightly yellow |
| Odor | Amine-like |
| Solubility In Water | Miscible |
| Density At 20c | Approximately 1.00 to 1.05 g/cm3 |
| Boiling Point | Approximately 120 to 180°C |
| Flash Point | Above 60°C (closed cup) |
| Ph | Alkaline, approximately 10 to 13 |
| Metal Ion Content | Controlled to ppb levels |
| Purity | Electronic grade with low particle and metallic contamination |
As an accredited Stripper (IC- Al process) Electronic/EL Grade factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Packaged in clean, sealed HDPE containers to preserve purity. Quantity options include 1L, 4L, 20L, and 200L drums. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL of electronic-grade IC aluminum stripper; drums palletized, secured, and containerized under clean, dry conditions for safe transit. |
| Shipping | Ship as UN/IATA-compliant hazardous chemical, in sealed corrosion-resistant containers. Protect from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Use dedicated chemical transport with secondary containment. Ensure proper labeling, SDS availability, and trained handlers. Avoid contact with incompatible materials; secure against leaks during transit. |
| Storage | Store in a tightly sealed, original container in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight, heat, and ignition sources. Keep separated from oxidizing agents, acids, and moisture. Maintain stable temperatures and avoid contamination to preserve electronic/EL grade purity. Ensure secondary containment and proper labeling per safety protocols. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life is typically 6–12 months when stored sealed in original containers, under cool, dry, and inert conditions. |
Aluminum metallization stripping for integrated circuits requires a different corrosion-control profile than copper dual-damascene stripping; the wet step must solvate aluminum chloride, aluminum fluoride, and fluorinated sidewall polymer generated by Cl2/BCl3 or CHF3-based dry etch without producing metal loss, pitting, or TiN underlayer attack. In front-end aluminum interconnect fabrication the stripper is applied after via etch and after pad etch on 200 mm and 300 mm wafers in either single-wafer spray processors or recirculating batch immersion benches. The electronic/EL-grade liquid is delivered with 0.1 µm point-of-use particle retention, metal cation limits specified below 10 ppb for critical alkali and transition metals, and controlled chloride/fluoride carryover to suppress aluminum pitting. Compliance for this segment includes ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 5 cleanroom integration, SEMI S2 equipment safety review, rinse-water quality per ASTM D5127-13 Type E-1, and metal compatibility evaluated on immersion coupons per ASTM G31-72. For batch immersion the bath is charged at 1:1 stripper-to-ultrapure-water and replenished at 0.15 L per 25-wafer lot; single-wafer spray uses the stripper undiluted with point-of-use filtration. Processing runs at 45–55 °C for 15–25 min, with PTFE cartridge recirculation at 8–12 L/min and quick-dump rinse in carbon-dioxide-bubbled deionized water at 18 MΩ·cm to minimize post-strip aluminum hydroxide formation. The terminal products are mixed-signal and logic integrated circuits with aluminum bond-pad levels, where post-strip residue density is verified by bright-field inspection at 0.5 µm minimum defect size and by SEM review of via sidewalls.
Post-etch residue on AlCu lines after Cl2/BCl3 etch contains aluminum chloride, aluminum fluoride, titanium fluoride, and cross-linked fluoropolymer; incomplete removal before dielectric deposition creates contact-resistance drift and via-to-via leakage. The stripper is maintained within a pH and water-content window that favors polymer swelling while limiting aluminum dissolution. Aluminum etch rate on Al-0.5 wt% Cu coupons is specified below 1 nm/min at 55 °C, TiN etch rate below 0.15 nm/min, and silicon dioxide loss below 0.2 nm/min on the same coupon. Bath-life control uses Karl Fischer titration for water content and ICP-MS for metal loading; replacement is triggered when water exceeds 5 wt% or total extracted metal loading exceeds 500 ppb. Endpoint residue is confirmed by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy for C–F stretch disappearance and by top-down CD-SEM for sidewall polymer clearance. The process is configured for Teflon/PFA tanks with nitrogen purge, 1.5 MHz megasonic agitation at 250 W, and quick-dump rinse modules, providing a defined wet-strip boundary before subsequent dielectric liner deposition.
| Aluminum stack configuration | Process temperature range | Al etch rate at 40 °C | TiN etch rate at 40 °C | Endpoint verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ti/TiN/AlCu(0.5 wt%)/TiN on SiO2 | 45–55 °C | 0.5–1.0 nm/min | 0.10–0.15 nm/min | SEM via-chain residue count; CD-SEM sidewall |
| AlCu(2 wt%) thick power metal | 35–40 °C | 0.3–0.5 nm/min | 0.08–0.12 nm/min | AFM roughness per ISO 4287; XPS anion surface survey |
| AlSi(1 wt%) MEMS pad metal | 25 °C | 0.2–0.5 nm/min | 0.05–0.10 nm/min | Optical inspection at 0.5 µm; EDS residue mapping |
| Al/Si lift-off discrete rectifier | 38 °C | 0.4–0.7 nm/min | 0.10–0.20 nm/min | Ion chromatography surface extraction; SEM lift-off edge |
In power management semiconductor fabrication, thick AlCu top metallization of 3–6 µm is used for low-resistance power routing, and the associated photoresist layer may exceed 2.5–5.0 µm after high-dose implant or deep reactive-ion-etch exposure. The principal process conflict is thermal: elevated bath temperature accelerates polymer removal but increases aluminum pit nucleation at TiN/AlCu grain boundaries, while low-temperature operation leaves fluoropolymer residue at the metal-organic interface. Production-scale fabs operating 50-wafer PFA immersion benches typically set stripper temperature at 35–40 °C, not 50 °C, and extend dwell time to 20–40 min; the stripper is charged at 2:1 stripper-to-deionized water and replenished at 0.2 L per lot to compensate drag-out. Aluminum etch rate is held below 0.5 nm/min at 40 °C using ASTM G31-72 immersion coupons of Al-0.5 wt% Cu, with post-rinse surface roughness measured by atomic force microscopy per ISO 4287 below Ra 0.6 nm. Bath endpoint acceptance is established by SEM review of 50 via chains per wafer; the criterion is zero visible residue on TiN sidewalls and less than 0.3 µm photoresist scum at the base of 1.0 µm vias. Compliance for this application includes IATF 16949:2016 for automotive semiconductor quality, RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU Annex II restrictions on lead and cadmium, and SEMI S8 transport and hoist procedures for manual wet-bench cassette handling. The terminal products are automotive-grade 40 V and 80 V trench MOSFETs, motor-driver power stages, and battery-protection PMICs, where aluminum pad surface oxidation after stripping is controlled by carbon-dioxide-bubbled rinse at 5–8 °C below bath temperature and by centrifugal drying under nitrogen at 0.4 MPa.
Single-wafer spray processing is used after polyimide or PBO passivation etch when aluminum pad openings expose underlying AlCu pads to the stripper during final photoresist removal. The stripper is sprayed at 40–60 mL/min through a single-wafer tool with 0.1 µm point-of-use filtration and nitrogen blanket; substrate temperature is ramped from 30 °C to 60 °C in 10 °C increments to prevent thermal shock and edge bubbling. The stripper is used undiluted in this configuration because water addition raises surface tension and reduces polymer swelling; no bath make-up ratio applies, but line purge and refill are set at 0.05 L per wafer. The downstream sequence is passivation lithography, passivation dry etch, ash-free wet strip, isopropyl alcohol vapor dry, and in-line CD-SEM of pad openings. Terminal products are wafer-level chip-scale packages and copper-pillar bump precursors, where the specified aluminum pad roughness after spray is below Ra 0.8 nm per ISO 4287 and residual anions are below 1 × 1010 atoms/cm2 by ion chromatography surface extraction. Compliance anchors include REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 Annex XVII, CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, and SEMI S2 process-tool safety review.
Sputtered AlSi(1 wt%) films in capacitive inertial MEMS fabrication are stripped at 1:1 stripper-to-DI-water dilution in a 25 °C PFA immersion tank for 20 min after pad etch, with aluminum etch below 0.5 nm/min measured by ASTM G31-72; process compliance is ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 6, and the terminal products are sealed capacitive accelerometer die.
Aluminum reflective stacks in high-brightness LED fabrication require photoresist removal that does not roughen the mirror layer or introduce halide residues that degrade reflectivity. The stripper is applied in a PFA immersion bath at 30–35 °C for 10–15 min after lithographic definition of the Al reflector pattern; the bath is charged at 1:2 stripper-to-DI-water and filtered through 0.05 µm PTFE capsules to protect mirror surfaces from particle deposition. The downstream production flow is sapphire substrate mount, Al-based reflector sputtering, photoresist patterning, etch, wet strip, and mirror-surface reflectance metrology; the critical process limit is aluminum etch below 0.6 nm/min at 35 °C on ASTM G31-72 coupons, with surface roughness below Ra 0.7 nm per ISO 4287 after rinse. Compliance for this application includes REACH Substance of Very High Concern screening, SEMI S2 equipment safety, and ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 6 cleanroom handling. The terminal products are high-brightness LED chips with aluminum mirror pads, where post-strip reflectance loss at 450 nm is specified below 2% relative to pre-etch mirror controls.
Because aluminum lift-off structures leave photoresist undercut edges exposed to metal etch byproducts, discrete power rectifier manufacturing requires a strip step that removes edge residue without lifting the aluminum layer. The stripper is used at 1:1 dilution in a recirculating immersion tool at 38 °C for 12 min, followed by a cascading DI rinse with 18 MΩ·cm water and nitrogen blow-off at 0.35 MPa. Aluminum etch rate is controlled below 0.7 nm/min on Al/Si sputtered films tested per ASTM G31-72, and lifted-edge ion contamination is measured below 2 × 1010 atoms/cm2 by ion chromatography surface extraction. Compliance for this segment relies on RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 6, and ASTM D5127-13 rinse-water quality. The terminal products are aluminum-on-silicon discrete power rectifiers and Schottky diode chips, where wire-bond pad integrity is verified by ball-shear testing and post-strip optical inspection at 0.5 µm minimum defect size.
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Stripper (IC-Al process) Electronic/EL Grade is a liquid solvent-based photoresist and post-etch residue remover qualified for aluminium interconnect unit operations where exposed Al-Si-Cu or Al-Cu metallization remains during wet cleaning. The product model designation is process-specific rather than a discrete CAS registry entry; commercial model strings therefore encode the “IC-Al process” compatibility and the electronic/EL grade classification, and the supplier-specific formula revision should be confirmed on the certificate of analysis. The chemical is supplied as a low-sodium, low-potassium organic formulation with a proprietary corrosion inhibitor package. Density at 20 °C is reported in the range 0.95 g/cm³ to 1.05 g/cm³ by ASTM D4052, kinematic viscosity at 25 °C is typically 2.0 mm²/s to 5.0 mm²/s by ASTM D445, and closed-cup flash point is commonly above 70 °C by ASTM D93. The material is not a single-component solvent; its exact composition is confidential, but the principal difference from technical-grade strippers is the control of trace metals, anions, and suspended particles to semiconductor lot acceptance limits rather than to bulk solvent specifications.
Electronic/EL grade material is differentiated primarily by contaminant control after thermal stress. Representative acceptance targets for this product class include total alkali and alkaline-earth metals at ≤100 ppb by ICP-MS, single critical cations at ≤50 ppb, chloride at ≤0.2 ppm, sulfate at ≤0.5 ppm, and particles at ≥0.2 µm of ≤100 counts/mL. Technical-grade solvent blends may exceed these limits by one to three orders of magnitude. Water content is specified at ≤0.3 wt% by Karl Fischer titration because water ingress changes both flash point and aluminium corrosion rate. Non-volatile residue is controlled to ≤10 ppm to avoid post-strip organic residue on bond pads. These limits are lot-specific; published data for the exact formulation may be limited, and procurement should require a formal certificate of analysis.
| Parameter | Method | Electronic/EL Grade target | Technical-grade typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total critical metals | ICP-MS | ≤100 ppb | ≤10 ppm |
| Chloride | Ion chromatography | ≤0.2 ppm | ≤5 ppm |
| Particles ≥0.2 µm | Laser particle counting, SEMI C90 | ≤100 counts/mL | not controlled |
| Water content | Karl Fischer, ASTM D1364 | ≤0.3 wt% | ≤1.5 wt% |
| Non-volatile residue | Gravimetric | ≤10 ppm | ≤100 ppm |
The low-sodium and low-potassium character is critical because mobile ion contamination in interlayer dielectrics shifts flatband voltage. Semiconductor qualification often includes capacitance-voltage measurement after thermal stress at 200 °C for 2 h to detect mobile charge introduced by the stripper. That requirement is absent from standard solvent procurement specifications and explains why electronic/EL grade packaging, filtration, and analytical release differ from laboratory or general industrial grades.
When a cassette of 200 mm wafers is processed in a batch immersion tool with a 40 L quartz-lined bath, the stripper is maintained at 70 °C ± 2 °C and recirculated through a PTFE filter housing fitted with a 0.05 µm absolute-rated filter at 20 L/min. Bath life beyond 72 h at temperature produces a measurable increase in particle counts and water content; both effects lower flash point and increase aluminium attack in unpassivated regions. In single-wafer spray processors, dispense flow is typically 1.5 L/min to 2.5 L/min through a PFA nozzle assembly at 65 °C to 80 °C, followed by deionized water and isopropyl alcohol rinses. Production-scale failure modes include seal swelling when ethylene-propylene or Viton elastomers are substituted for perfluoroelastomer O-rings, and filter blinding when dissolved novolak resist loading exceeds the supplier-defined bath loading limit. Published data for the exact bath life threshold in the specific IC-Al process configuration is limited, so replenishment and point-of-use filtration intervals should be validated on the target tool.
Wetted materials in qualified dispensing systems are limited to PFA, PTFE, and electropolished 300-series stainless steel with surface roughness Ra ≤ 0.25 µm. Copper and brass components are prohibited because trace copper leaching increases the dissolved metal load in the bath and accelerates plating-type deposition on exposed AlCu lines. Pump diaphragms made from Santoprene or buna-N have shown mass swell above 20 % after 72 h immersion at 70 °C; perfluoroelastomer or PTFE diaphragm retrofits are mandatory. Point-of-use filtration at 0.05 µm absolute rating is used for immersion tanks, while single-wafer tools often use 0.1 µm point-of-use filters because pressure drop across the dispense nozzle is lower.
The compatibility window is defined by water concentration, pH, and inhibitor depletion rather than solvent solvency alone. Lot acceptance data for representative inhibited blends indicate that above 0.5 wt% water content, AlCu coupon corrosion rate at 75 °C may exceed 2 nm/min, whereas below 0.2 wt% water content the stripping rate of hard-baked positive resist may fall below 2.0 µm/min. Ready-to-use pH is typically 9.0 to 10.5; an excursion above 11.0 accelerates aluminium loss, particularly in post-via structures where TiN barrier is exposed. The supplier maintains a proprietary inhibitor package that passivates AlSiCu surfaces during extended immersion; its performance can be monitored by electrochemical linear polarization resistance on patterned AlCu wafers after 60 min exposure. The product is not compatible with hydroxylamine-based strippers or with concentrated oxidizers due to exothermic decomposition and loss of inhibitor efficiency.
Unlike fluoride-containing semiaqueous strippers, this solvent-based IC-Al formulation removes photoresist by dissolution and swelling without an isotropic oxide etch component. Qualification data from a single-wafer spray processor at 25 rpm wafer rotation and 65 °C dispense temperature show removal of positive novolak resist at ≥2.5 µm/min while TEOS oxide loss remains below 0.1 nm/min. This selectivity is relevant for aluminium interconnect stacks where loss of dielectric sidewall oxide changes critical dimensions and where TiN barrier integrity must be preserved. The trade-off is that heavily crosslinked post-ash residues may require a subsequent solvent/amine step; the product is therefore optimized for integrated descum and resist strip loops rather than bulk oxide removal.
Fluoride-based formulated strippers offer faster removal of silicon-containing etch residues but introduce oxide loss and trace fluoride compatibility issues on aluminium lines. The comparative data below are representative qualification ranges; actual values depend on wafer geometry and residue condition. Because the IC-Al Electronic/EL Grade is supplied with low water content and low chloride, it reduces the risk of post-strip galvanic corrosion on AlCu bond pads, whereas fluoride-containing alternatives can leave residual fluorine on TiN surfaces that requires additional rinse.
| Property | IC-Al Electronic/EL Grade | Fluoride-containing semiaqueous | Hydroxylamine/amine blend |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlCu etch rate at 75 °C | ≤1 nm/min | ≤0.5 nm/min | ≤2 nm/min |
| TEOS oxide loss at 65 °C | ≤0.1 nm/min | 0.5 nm/min to 2.0 nm/min | ≤0.3 nm/min |
| Post-etch residue removal | moderate-high | high | moderate |
| Trace metals | ≤100 ppb | ≤100 ppb | ≤50 ppb |
| Water content | ≤0.3 wt% | ≤0.5 wt% | ≤0.5 wt% |
Nitrogen blanketing and low-moisture packaging are specified because the solvent blend is hygroscopic. Storage in sealed fluoropolymer containers at 5 °C to 25 °C with headspace oxygen below 10 % prevents water uptake and amine oxidation. The product is incompatible with sodium hydroxide, concentrated mineral acids, and strong oxidizing agents. Packaging is typically amber glass or fluoropolymer in 4 L, 20 L, and 200 L containers. Safety data sheet classification follows Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 Annex II; disposal must follow local organic solvent waste codes. Process equipment should meet SEMI S2 and SEMI S8 requirements for chemical distribution systems.
