US EPA

1357627 

Technical Report 

Ion Implanters Chemical and Radiation Safety 

Baldwin, DG; King, BW; Scarpace, LP 

1989 

NIOSH/00189064 

Lewis Publishers 

0 

161-177 

English 

Safety measures to be taken when using ion implanters, common in the semiconductor fabrication industry were described. The ion implanter operation process involves a stream of ionized atoms accelerated at high speed and moved across a wafer onto which the ions implant only at specified locations. Of the major hazards associated with ion implantation, chemical and radiation hazards were reviewed. Regulations and surveys to control the exposure to radiation were noted; the use of radiation film badges in monitoring radiation exposure was discussed. The chemicals used in the process included dopant materials, residues, and solvents for cleaning. Employee exposures may occur during production operations, maintenance operations and accidental gas releases. Since implanters operated as a closed system under vacuum, the possibility of significant exposure to dopant materials was remote during normal operations. During maintenance operations the primary concerns were airborne exposure to residues during preventive maintenance operations and accidental gas releases during gas bottle changes. Preventive maintenance involved the cleaning of parts contaminated with toxic residues. Of particular concern was arsenic (7440382), and several methods for reducing exposure to airborne arsenic were discussed. Urinary arsenic levels can be used to monitor total arsenic dose received by a worker. However, the method had the disadvantage that organic pentavalent arsenic present in the diet makes it hard to correlate urinary arsenic levels and industrial exposure to inorganic and elemental arsenic. 

DCN-184486; NIOSH Publication; Semiconductors; Electronics industry; Radiation exposure; Radiation hazards; Control technology; Arsenic compounds; Accident prevention; Safety practices; Organic solvents