WATER TREATMENT FOR THE MICROELECTRONICS AND SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY
High-purity water is a critical component in the microelectronics industry, helping businesses to maximize product output, increase savings and meet strict safety or environmental regulations. Higher volume and tightening specifications require water treatment providers to be flexible and efficient. Ultrapure’s extensive product offering and personalized service plans result in the most successful, cost-effective solutions for this fast-paced, ever-changing industry.
Microelectronics Water Treatment Solutions
Water Treatment for the Microelectronics and Semiconductor Industry
Boiler and Cooling Tower Pretreatment
In boilers and cooling towers, corrosion, deposition, fouling and biological growth negatively impact operations and lead to costly maintenance. Chemical pretreatment and reverse osmosis aid in preventing costly downtime and improving overall product quality.
Wastewater Management
Wastewater management remains the last step in microelectronics manufacturing. This typically includes the removal of heavy metal to clean waste streams and meet stringent environmental standards or regulatory pressures. Treatment can be as simple as chemical additions or as complex as a treatment train combining several different filtration methods.
Water Recycling
Water recycling refers to the process of piping used process water back to where it may be purified or combined with water of approximately equal quality. Treating wastewater for the purpose of water recycling provides microelectronics manufacturers with several benefits, including the reduction of both water supply and wastewater disposal costs.
High-Purity Process Water
High-purity water is a vital element in all aspects of the microelectronics manufacturing process. Chemical treatment, water softening, reverse osmosis deionization and ultraviolet purification are all used as treatment methods in various loops, or stages.
In the microelectronics and semiconductor industry, one of the the largest concerns is resistivity of the water. Resistivity is the reciprocal of conductivity and measures the ability of the water to resist an electric current. This is directly correlated to the amount of dissolved salts in the water – water with a high concentration of dissolved salts will have a low resistivity and vice versa.

Electronic-Grade Water Classification
ASTM International has classified six types of electronic-grade water. The range of water purity per classification is defined in accordance with the manufacturing process in respect to device line width.
Type E-1
This classification of water is used in the production of devices having line widths between 0.5 and 1.0 µm.
Type E-1.1
Type E-1.1 water is used in the production of devices with line widths between 0.25 and 0.35 µm.
Type E-1.2
This particular type of water is intended for the most critical applications and used in in the production of devices having line widths between 0.09 and 0.18 µm.
Type E-2
Type E-2 water is used in the production of devices with dimensions between 1 and 5 µm.
Type E-3
This grade of water is classified as macroelectronic water and used in the production of devices with dimensions larger than 5 µm. Type E-3 water may be used to produce larger components and some small components not affected by trace amounts of impurities.
Type E-4
Type E-4 water is utilized for applications where the water can be of lesser quality, such as the preparation of plating solutions.
Get in Touch With an Ultrapure Expert
If you’re looking to increase your ROI, protect critical equipment or meet strict industry and safety standards, contact one of Ultrapure's experienced engineers to learn how a full-service approach to water treatment can benefit your business.