OBJECTIVES To associate work in the semiconductor industry, including silicon wafer fabrication, with cancer risks or mortality and other adverse health effects, the operation of wafer fabrication should initially be understood. A detailed study on the fabrication operation allows retrospective exposure to be assessed and wafer fabrication workers to be classified into similar exposure groups. Therefore, the objective of this study was to comprehensively review silicon wafer fabrication operations and related hazardous materials and agents. METHODS The literatures related to semiconductor industry processes were reviewed from an occupational health viewpoint based on wafer manufacturing, wafer fabrication and packaging. The focus was especially related to the hazardous materials used in wafer fabrication industries. RESULTS During the fabrication of silicon wafers, many toxic chemicals, a strong electric field and hazardous equipment are used. The process allows the integration of a three-dimensional array of electric circuits onto a silicon wafer substrate. Wafers are sliced from single crystal silicon and subject to a series of steps during the fabrication process, which alternatively adds and then selectively removes materials in layers from the surface of the wafer to create different parts of the completed integrated circuit. There are four major steps in this process; patterning, junction formation, thin film and metallization. CONCLUSIONS In order to associate exposure to the hazard agents generated during wafer fabrication operations with adverse health effects the details of the operation should be completely studied, which will be helpful in both exposure assessments and epidemiological studies.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Assessment of Occupational Health Risks for Maintenance Work in Fabrication Facilities: Brief Review and Recommendations Dong-Uk Park, Kyung Ehi Zoh, Eun Kyo Jeong, Dong-Hee Koh, Kyong-Hui Lee, Naroo Lee, Kwonchul Ha Safety and Health at Work.2024; 15(1): 87. CrossRef
Sintering of silver nanoparticle structures and the pursuit of minimum resistivity Arif Hussain, Hee Lak Lee, Seung Jae Moon Materials Today Communications.2023; 34: 105159. CrossRef
Lymphohematopoietic cancer mortality among Korean semiconductor manufacturing workers Dong-Wook Lee, Sooyoung Cho, Aesun Shin BMC Public Health.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Temperature Estimation during Pulsed Laser Sintering of Silver Nanoparticles Arif Hussain, Hee-Lak Lee, Yoon-Jae Moon, Heuiseok Kang, Seung-Jae Moon, Jun-Young Hwang Applied Sciences.2022; 12(7): 3467. CrossRef
Stepwise Current Increment Sintering of Silver Nanoparticle Structures Dongkeun Kim, Arif Hussain, Hee-Lak Lee, Yoon-Jae Moon, Junyoung Hwang, Seung-Jae Moon Crystals.2021; 11(10): 1264. CrossRef
Chemical use in the semiconductor manufacturing industry Sunju Kim, Chungsik Yoon, Seunghon Ham, Jihoon Park, Ohun Kwon, Donguk Park, Sangjun Choi, Seungwon Kim, Kwonchul Ha, Won Kim International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.2018; 24(3-4): 109. CrossRef
Comparative Analysis between Direct-reading Meter of PID and GC-FID using the Active Type Air Sampler for VOCs Measurement Jin-Hee Yeo, Kwang-Min Choi Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.2016; 26(3): 301. CrossRef
Review of Hazardous Agent Level in Wafer Fabrication Operation Focusing on Exposure to Chemicals and Radiation Donguk Park Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.2016; 26(1): 1. CrossRef
Clean Room Structure, Air Conditioning and Contamination Control Systems in the Semiconductor Fabrication Process Kwang-Min Choi, Ji-Eun Lee, Kwi-Young Cho, Kwan-Sick Kim, Soo-Hun Cho Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.2015; 25(2): 202. CrossRef
A Design of the Ontology-based Situation Recognition System to Detect Risk Factors in a Semiconductor Manufacturing Process Seung-Min Baek, Min-Ho Jeon, Chang-Heon Oh The Journal of Korea Navigation Institute.2013; 17(6): 804. CrossRef
Occupational Cancers with Chemical Exposure and their Prevention in Korea: A Literature Review Kyung-Taek Rim Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention.2013; 14(6): 3379. CrossRef
Ecotoxicity Estimation of Hazardous Air Pollutants Emitted from Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes Utilizing QSAR Hyung-Geun Park, Min-Kyeong Yeo Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society.2013; 34(12): 3755. CrossRef
Leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in semiconductor industry workers in Korea Inah Kim, Hyun J. Kim, Sin Y. Lim, Jungok Kongyoo International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.2012; 18(2): 147. CrossRef