The Symposium on Ultra Clean Processing of Semiconductor Surfaces (UCPSS) is a biannual event. The next edition will be held from 20-22 September 2010 in Thermae Palace, Ostend (Belgium). For the first time, a special session will be devoted to photovoltaic applications, on 22 September. Contributions in new areas such as photovoltaics and bio-electronic applications are particularly encouraged.

It is the purpose of the UCPSS symposium to increase the level of understanding on ultra-clean processing technology in all steps of the IC-production, PV and bioelectronics. The conference consists of invited presentations, as well as selected contributing presentations and posters.

The issues to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

Removal of contaminants in all steps of micro-, nano-electronics applications and 3D-integration
Fundamentals of contaminants on surfaces: e.g. particle-substrate interactions
Surface chemistry, passivation, conditioning and characterization of group IV and III/V materials (Si, Ge, GaAs and InGaAs) for sensitive FEOL processes (high-k-metal gate stacks dielectrics, Ge surfaces, III-V, epitaxy, ALD)
Chemical and physical cleaning in liquid, gaseous and supercritical ambient
Trade-offs between cleaning performance, substrate damage and etching
Contamination/particle control and its relation with process yield or performance
Yield enhancement cleans: wafer backside, bevel
Dry-etch resist strip and polymer removal
Removal of modified photo resist, post etch residues and polymers
Process and contamination diagnostics, in-situ monitoring and process control
General issues in ultra-clean technology, ultra-pure materials and supply systems
Environmentally friendly technologies and mass balance equations
EUV-mask cleaning
Surface functionalization for integrated bio-electronic sensors
Cleaning and surface preparation for silicon substrate based solar cells such as:
Purity requirements for solar cell fabrication
Wet texturization processes
Surface passivation for low surface recombination lifetime

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www.ucpss.org