Most modern microcontamination control strategies have moved away from continuous monitoring of cleanrooms. Cleanroom technology has improved over the years, combining robotics and factory automation with high-efficiency particulate air filtration. Particle-free cleanrooms measured at 0.3 µm are commonplace. As part of this evolution, special protective enclosures have been developed for the semi and data storage industries to store and transport product through complex manufacturing processes that provide protection against exposure to particulate contamination.
Optical particle counters providing 0.1 µm sensitivity are still used in these applications for certification but are generally unable to provide meaningful data to support process improvement and yield enhancement initiatives effectively because they lack sensitivity. However, CPC (Condensation Particle Counting) technology should be complementary to existing optical particle counter technology for its ability to provide particle contamination trending and excursion data which has been previously unavailable.
Download the complete paper to learn more about:
- Particle size distributions below 100 nm
- Practical Considerations for Choosing Monitoring Locations
- Experiment test and results
