Hose Solutions for the Semiconductor Industry

APT Advanced Polymer Tubing, part of the Masterflex Group, has expanded its strategic partnership with Chemours. Chemours is the manufacturer of the Teflon™ brand. For customers in the semiconductor industry, this collaboration combines Chemours’ material expertise with APT’s fluoropolymer processing and application expertise—particularly for custom high-purity PFA tubing solutions. The specific material selection and suitability are always evaluated based on the respective process requirements, specifications, and approvals.

The Masterflex Group supports the quality assurance of hose solutions with qualified testing processes and state-of-the-art testing technology. Products and assemblies are regularly inspected to a defined extent to verify compliance with relevant requirements regarding materials, dimensions, workmanship, and project-specific quality characteristics. For OEM, Tier 1, and high-purity projects, testing requirements, documentation, and approval criteria are coordinated at an early stage.

For applications in the semiconductor industry, fluoropolymer tubing such as PFA, PTFE, or FEP may be suitable. The appropriate tubing solution is selected based on the process medium, purity requirements, temperature, pressure, mechanical stress, installation conditions, and connection technology.

A PFA hose for the semiconductor industry may be a good choice when transporting process chemicals or ultra-pure media and when there are high requirements for material resistance, cleanliness, and process reliability. Whether PFA is suitable for a specific application is always determined based on the actual process parameters and the customer’s specifications.

PFA and PTFE hoses can—depending on technical approval—serve as components in wet-process and chemical-delivery systems. Typical interfaces include connections between chemical supply lines, pumps, filters, valves, and process modules. Key factors for design include, in particular, the chemical, concentration, temperature, pressure, and purity requirements.

To ensure a robust design, we ideally need information on the process medium and concentration, temperature, operating pressure, dimensions, bend radius, installation location, cleanliness requirements, and the desired connection or assembly solution. For mass-production projects, the annual volume, quality specifications, documentation requirements, and change management are also important.

Custom hose assemblies can be tailored to the installation conditions, hose geometry, and connection technology of an OEM or Tier 1 project. Before series production is approved, technical requirements, interfaces, test criteria, and the necessary documentation should be defined jointly.

In semiconductor facilities, tubing solutions are used—depending on the process—for compressed air, vacuum, temperature-control media, liquids, process chemicals, or slurries. Examples include air and liquid lines in lithography systems, chemical lines in wet-process systems, and media lines in packaging and testing systems. The choice of material must be validated for each specific process and medium.

In addition to materials and dimensions, buyers should pay particular attention to specifications, the medium, process conditions, the desired finish, quality requirements, the scope of documentation, the approval process, and planned quantities. Early technical coordination helps to clearly define the scope of delivery, interfaces, and production requirements.

The achievable purity and cleanliness of a tubing solution depend on the material, the manufacturing process, the assembly, the packaging, and the defined testing and documentation requirements. For high-purity applications, customer-specific requirements should be coordinated early on. These include, for example, specifications regarding particles, outgassing, cleaning, or packaging, to the extent that they are relevant to the specific project.

The scope of documentation required is agreed upon on a project-by-project basis. Depending on the application, this may include technical specifications, material information, test criteria, conformity documents, batch or traceability data, and approved drawings. Which documents are available and required should be clearly defined prior to series production approval.

The possible design depends on the hose material, dimensions, operating conditions, and the interface within the system. Relevant factors include the type of connection, sealing concept, installation space, mounting situation, and requirements for cleaning or replaceability. The specific design should therefore be defined in collaboration with the engineering and quality departments.

Traceability (COAs) is implemented through a process defined specifically for each project. Possible components include labeling, batch assignment, documentation, inspection status, or defined identification characteristics. The required scope depends on the application, the quality assurance processes, and the customer’s specifications.