Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Complex analytical and toxicological studies of the waste products from aluminium plasma etching were performed over a four-year period. Many different organic compounds were identified and quantified in the waste gases, vacuum pump oils, and the solid debris collected from the air pipe systems. The identified compounds were exclusively perhalogenated hydrocarbons. Toxicological investigations showed clear genotoxic, embryotoxic, and teratogenic effects resulting from the waste products.
The study left no doubt, that workers in semiconductor production processes are potentially in danger of coming in contact with small amounts of plasma by-products, either through accidents, maintenance procedures, or insufficient protection.