Neon recovery for photolithography

Neon is a rare noble gas present in the atmosphere that is utilized for a host of industrial applications. For semiconductor manufacturing, the gas is used as a component in gas mixes used to generate laser light for DUV photolithography. For these applications, the gas is mixed with argon and fluorine in excimer lasers to generate laser light with a wavelength of 193 nm. For excimer lasers, the gas mix is continuously replenished and the used gas scrubbed for hazardous residual gases and typically vented to the atmosphere. In this paper we describe a technology used to recycle the gas mix by capturing the effluent from excimer lasers. Recycling the neon content from excimer laser waste streams minimize the neon supply variation caused by supply shortages. Recycling neon stabilizes the cost of neon to the wafer manufacturer and also reduces energy costs to manufacture the gas leading to lower carbon footprint.