Carbon footprint of PECVD chamber cleaning

By Martin Schottler, Environmental Engineer, M+W Zander GmbH; Mariska de Wild-Scholten, Member of the Research Staff, ECN Solar Energy

The use of perfluorinated gases such as NF3, CF4 or SF6 for PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) chamber cleaning has a much higher impact on global warming than does the use of onsite-generated F2. This holds true even when supposing that in the future much more effort is paid for the correct abatement and a leak-free supply and take-back chain. This paper will discuss the steps available to the PV industry for control and reduction of carbon emissions in the chamber cleaning process.