The surface of silicon dummy wafers is contaminated with metallic impurities owing to the reaction with and adhesion of chemicals during the oxidation process. These metallic impurities negatively affect the device performance, reliability, and yield. To solve this problem, a wafer-cleaning process that removes metallic impurities is essential. RCA (Radio Corporation of America) cleaning is commonly used, but there are problems such as increased surface roughness and formation of metal hydroxides. Herein, we attempt to use a chelating agent (EDTA) to reduce the surface roughness, improve the stability of cleaning solutions, and prevent the re-adsorption of impurities. The bonding between the cleaning solution and metal powder is analyzed by referring to the Pourbaix diagram. The changes in the ionic conductivity, H2O2 decomposition behavior, and degree of dissolution are checked with a conductivity meter, and the changes in the absorbance and particle size before and after the reaction are confirmed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses. Thus, the addition of a chelating agent prevents the decomposition of H2O2 and improves the life of the silicon wafer cleaning solution, allowing it to react smoothly with metallic impurities.

본 연구에서는 수계 내 포함된 양이온들 중 특히 중금속 이온을 효율적으로 분리할 수 있는 양이온 교환막을 개 발하였다. 기저 고분자로는 sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK)를 사용하였으며 이에 중금속 이온에 결합력이 강한 킬 레이팅 수지를 파우더링하여 첨가하였다. 또한 양이온 교환막의 성능을 최적화시키기 위해 킬레이팅 수지의 함량 및 SPEEK 의 이온교환용량을 제어하였다. 결과적으로 제조된 양이온 교환막을 막 축전식 탈염 공정(membrane capacitive deionization, MCDI)에 적용한 결과 중금속 이온 제거 효율이 20% 이상 향상됨을 확인할 수 있었다.