Karl Urquhart
Diversified Fluid Solution's Director of R&D | Chemical Product Technology Manager, PHOCUS-DFS

Biography

Karl Urquhart is Director of R&D and the Chemical Product Technology Manager for Diversified Fluid Solutions.

His primary responsibility is to plan and direct the R&D and product development functions while interfacing with customers to determine their evolving needs. He also works closely with the sales & marketing team.

Karl is an innovative process engineering professional with 30 years of experience in the Advanced Electronic, Chemical Processing, and Semiconductor industries. He has extensive experience in all aspects of equipment, process, development, optimization, and data analysis in semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Serving as the technical lead he has managed multiple green field projects along with OEM tool, chemical blending, chemical purification and generation applications. He has a strong reputation of success. His influence and technology contributions span the globe today and continue to be a big part of chemical operations around the industries which he has served.

An effective problem solver, Karl has received multiple awards and patents.

Karl is proud to have served in the US Navy from 1986 until 1996 as an Advanced Electronics Weapon Systems Technician (FC). Working on such weapon systems as Harpoon, Slam and Tomahawk, and serving on notable commands like the USS New Jersey.

Abstract

In today's industry, chemical uniformity and quality play major roles in defect reduction, and over all supply chain costs. While there have been major advances in metrology in recent years, varying in many areas and principles, none are a fit for all solutions. Process characterization and metrology selection play an increasingly critical part in ensuring product health and uniformity in blending and dispensing of these solutions. Through this practice of characterization, it is possible to use simple metrology devices or combinations of such devices to achieve the best control and monitoring results.

Refractive Index (RI) is a continuous, non-consuming optical measurement, which helps factories monitor slurry composition in real time, reducing the amount of process material at risk. Once characterized, RI can determine the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the final slurry within a known % relative to spec. Moreover, unlike single conductivity measurements, RI measurements can monitor slurry density, an indicator of settling and degradation of the slurry over time.

RI is used to qualify not only the final product for supply, but also monitor batch-to-batch variations of incoming slurry and validate the blending steps. When other metrology instruments are added, a complete process view can be seen and used in real time to control the processes.

Such characterization and instruments used to accomplish them are in need to keep pace with a factory’s dynamic chemical environment. Mobile chemical blending and dispensing systems (MCBS) support these characterization and recipe supply efforts effectively. Uses include R&D Efforts, New Supplier Qualifications, Tool Recipe Optimizations, Process Establishment, and Supporting Scale-up.

MCBS systems give companies technology flexibility that allows a user to stay ahead of dynamic process changes they face. Using the MCBS platform, allows users to develop optimal formulations, and control parameters around any part of the chemical formulation. This gives the freedom to optimize onsite, in real-time, and maintain the proprietary process secrets as internal IP. Offering a benefit of in-house development, while enabling a user chemical source independence.