Appendix

| C4 |

Estimation of HSP from Solvent Mixtures

In this appendix, multi-component solvent mixtures are
used to dissolve a polymeric photoresist material in
a solvent cleaning operation. The optimization routines of
Appendix C1 are applied to the data, which are multilevel.
Some key lessons are presented in the use of HSP to predict
cleaning performance.

A. SELECTION OF CLEANING
SOLVENTS
The work described in this appendix is the reverse of that in
Appendices C2 and C3. Here, the experimentersA wished to
identify multi-component solvent compositions which
could be used to rapidly and completely clean photoresist
from etched surfaces. They used HSP technology to identify
candidate solvent blends and compositions for cleaning
prior to any testing.
Five aspects were recognized and considered in selecting
the test solvents, and the compositions of their mixtures.
These aspects were:
1. Based on past work, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and

methylene chloride were believed to provide adequate

cleaning performance.
2. HSP values of the photoresist materials must be close
to the HSP values of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and
methylene chloride. Hence those single-solvent values
were taken as initial targets.
3. Neither N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone nor methylene
chloride adequately represented the safety, health, and
environmental (SHE) characteristics desired in future
cleaning activities. Cleaning compositions with a less
negative SHE impact were desired1.
1
This situation is absolutely typical of those found in the cleaning
industry, and is a major justication for use of HSP technology to replace
high-SHE impact solvents with the opposite, while still performing the
cleaning work.

4. Solution HSP values displaced from those of N-

methyl-2-pyrrolidone and methylene chloride were

selected with other solvent compositions, so as to
provide some robustness to the developed data2. This
was done without regard to meeting the SHE
requirements.
5. The molar volume of the solvents and mixtures should
be low (<100) to moderate (100 to 125), and not high
(>150 cc/g-mole). It was believed prior to testing that
the rate of dissolving would be increased by using low
solvent molar volumes.

B. POST-EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS
FOR CONSISTENCY
The analysis below examines experimental data to learn
whether the selected solvents and compositions performed
as expected using HSP technology.
Post-experimental analysis may be more important than
the analysis which led to the selection of the solvents being
tested. This is because laboratory solubility tests dont always
scale up to commercial operation3. Post-experimental

2
A data set without diversity, without breadth of outcomes, wont allow
learning of what causes favorable and unfavorable outcomes. One
usually has to measure failure to dene the boundaries of success. The
variability of the results (Solubility Grades) speaks to how well this aim
was achieved.
3
Reasons why this is so include: (1) The dimensions, shape, surface
conguration, and volume of the soil piece in the laboratory
experiments are different than that in the commercial application, (2)
the method of application of the solvent in a laboratory experiment
almost certainly doesnt include the agitation available in a commercial
facility, (3) the gradients of concentration of soil within the solvent are
different because of the above reasons, and (4) the condition of the
surface to which the soil is attached, and the nature of those
attachment forces, will certainly be different in the laboratory vs. the
commercial situation.

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