Gas Purifiers — Semiconductor-Grade Ultra-High-Purity Systems

Gas Purifiers

14Products

Gas purifiers upgrade industrial-grade gases to the ultra-high purity required by semiconductor processes. Even nitrogen, hydrogen, argon or oxygen rated 5N (99.999%) still carries ppm-level H₂O, O₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄ and NMHC, which cause film defects, interfacial oxidation and yield loss in epitaxy, etch and deposition steps. Purifiers installed at the point of use or on the facility supply header reduce these impurities to ppb or even ppt levels using adsorption, catalytic conversion and getter technologies.

The range covers three types: ambient-temperature POU inline purifiers (5–4000 SLPM, no heating or purge gas required, with 18/24 MPa high-pressure variants); small-flow heated getter purifiers (0.2–150 LPM) that also remove CH₄ and N₂ and allow on-site getter replacement; and large-flow fully automatic units (10–50000 Nm³/h) with parallel adsorption beds alternating between ambient purification and high-temperature regeneration under PLC control for 24-hour uninterrupted supply.

Dedicated models are available for nitrogen (including a catalytic version for CH₄ removal), hydrogen (adsorption, getter and combined configurations, plus a liquid-nitrogen cryogenic version for deep removal of CH₄, N₂ and Ar), oxygen, rare gases (Ar, He, Kr, Ne, Xe), ammonia, carbon dioxide (including a dedicated supercritical CO₂ version), XCDA clean dry air, plus 240 Bar high-pressure units and large-flow ambient units suited to temporary or standby supply. The POU range additionally handles more than thirty specialty gases including HCl, Cl₂, BF₃, SiHCl₃, GeH₄, H₂S, AsH₃ and PH₃.

Typical applications: process gas supply in 300 mm wafer fabs, display and LED epitaxy, inert gas for lithium battery dry rooms, optical fiber preform manufacturing, and carrier gas for laboratory analytical instruments. To specify a unit, confirm the gas type, maximum and nominal flow rates, source gas quality, required outlet quality, and the operating environment and usage pattern.

Frequently Asked Questions

If my gas is already 5N, why do I still need a purifier?
5N (99.999%) means total impurities below 10 ppm, but advanced semiconductor processes require ppb or even ppt levels — three to six orders of magnitude lower. Residual moisture, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons form oxide layers at epitaxial interfaces and create defects in thin films. Moreover, as gas travels from the cylinder or tank through piping to the point of use, outgassing from pipe walls and micro-leaks at fittings reintroduce impurities — which is why purifiers are normally installed at the point of use rather than at the gas source.
How do I choose between ambient POU, heated, and fully automatic types?
It comes down to flow rate and whether CH₄ or N₂ must be removed. Flow of 5–4000 SLPM with no need for automatic regeneration or CH₄ removal → ambient POU (BSP): compact, no heating or purge gas, lowest installation cost. Flow of 0.2–150 LPM but CH₄ or N₂ must be removed → heated type (BSH), using a getter alloy at elevated temperature for higher removal efficiency. Flow of 10–50000 Nm³/h with 24-hour uninterrupted supply required → fully automatic type (BSS series), with multiple adsorption beds in parallel alternating through regeneration.
What is the difference between adsorption (ADS), getter (GET) and catalytic (CAT)?
Adsorption retains impurities on the adsorbent by physical or chemical adsorption; it can be regenerated at high temperature, lasts over 20 years and suits high flows. A getter removes impurities at high temperature through an irreversible chemical reaction — the deepest removal available, capable of handling N₂ and CH₄ — but it cannot be regenerated, so the getter column is replaced once saturated (3–5 year life). A catalytic bed converts CH₄, CO and similar species at high temperature into forms that adsorb readily; it needs neither regeneration nor replacement and normally sits in series ahead of the adsorption beds. Combined configurations such as CAT+ADS or ADS+GET are common in practice.
What happens when the adsorbent saturates, and how often does that occur?
It depends on the type. Ambient POU units are returned to the factory for regeneration roughly every 1–2 years, with a body life of over 20 years. Heated units need no factory return — the getter column is replaced on site at end of life, lasting 3–5 years or more with a source gas quality of 5N or better. Fully automatic units (BSS series) regenerate in place at high temperature using parallel beds — one supplying while another regenerates — so under normal operation the adsorbent is never replaced and equipment life exceeds 20 years. The large-flow ambient type (BSS14) can be returned to the factory or regenerated on site by service personnel.
Why is N₂ the hardest impurity to remove from inert gases?
The nitrogen molecule has no dipole moment and low polarizability, so its interaction with ordinary adsorbents is very weak and it is not stably adsorbed at ambient temperature. Its molecular size is also close to that of argon, so molecular-sieve pore-size separation alone cannot distinguish them. Pure adsorption designs such as BSS5-A are therefore largely ineffective against N₂. There are only two viable routes: use a high-temperature getter so the nitrogen takes part in an irreversible chemical reaction (BSS5-G / BSS5-H), or cool the adsorption bed into the liquid-nitrogen range to raise capacity dramatically (cryogenic types such as BSS7-C).
What information do you need to specify a purifier?
Six items: the gas type (including the composition of any mixture); flow rate (maximum and nominal quoted separately); source gas quality (upper limit of each impurity at inlet); required outlet quality (target value for each impurity); operating environment and usage pattern (continuous or intermittent, working pressure, ambient temperature, whether explosion-proof construction is needed); and any other special requirements such as footprint limits, integration with facility monitoring, or certification needs. The more complete the information, the more accurate the selection and quotation.

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