Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Users: Microelectronics
Pharmaceutical
Defense/ Aerospace
Research laboratories
Food Processing
Medical
Skis, Paints, Glass, Automotive
Controlled environment:
Particles
Humidity
Acoustics
Temperatures
Pressure
Vibration
Viables
Etc
Typical Specifications
Particles: <1 particle/ cu ft 0.10 or larger
Temperature: 68F 0.1F
Humidity: 40% RH 1.0%
Pressure: Zone P = 0.05’ W.G.
Acoustics: NC55
Vibration: 125 inches/ sec
Cleanroom Airflows
Airflow patterns:
Unidirectional airflow (aka “Laminar)
Used in class M3.5 (100) or cleaner
1) Horizontal airflow (older design): one wall contains filters
– air crosses room to returns on opposite wall – clean
opreations next to filter wall
2) Vertical airflow: most applications today use vertical flow
– air returns through floor or low sidewall
How they work? Unidirectional flow moves particles in
direction of airflow > minimize turbulence and airflow
interruptions
Mixed airflow
Combines both unidirectional and non-unidirectional
airflow in same room
Clean island configuration can be unidirectional or mixed
airflow depending on locations of returns
Airflow Measurement
Cleanliness class level not directly related to specific air velocity – operating
protocol, flow direction and filter quality affect cleanliness
Air velocity specified by average air velocity or “number of air changes per
hour”
Filter media
Distance from filter face
Obstructions
Distance from returns
RP-006 6.12 test conducted at plane 0.3m (12”) from supply source – may
result in uneven readings for system with low pressure drop filters – RP 006
6.12C lists equivalent airflow volume test that may be used
Economics of Velocity
cleanroom reciculation fans run 24 hours/ day, 365 days/ year – fan heat
increases cooling heats
Airflow Supply
Airflow Source
Energy
Size range: not applicable
Prevention: depends/ miscellaneous
Effects: depends/ miscellaneous
Examples: EMC (EMI, RFI, ESD, etc), temperature and
vibration
Life safety
Consider:
Controlled purge of segregated air circulation zones
Control dispersion of hazardous gasses by zone separation
Strong toxic/ flammable materials outside process floor
Distribution of chemicals from outside process floor under
controlled conditions in double contained delivery system
Minimize exit distance to fire protected area as required by code
Maximum contiguous floor area limited by codes
Isolate hazardous materials from personal
Code requirements drive design
Review utility matrix for identification of hazardous materials
(HPMs)
Note:
Owner’s insurance company and safety group must evaluate
specific safety issues
Life safety must be coordinated with cleanroom operation
requirements
Any automatic shutdown of air handling systems may (will)
destroy integrity of cleanroom
Environmental issues
Biological
Chemical
emc (electromagnetic compatibility); esd (electrostatic discharge)
temperature
humidity
vibration
etc
Q:
1) Critical values for criteria for each?
2) Are critical required or have they been arbitrary established?
3) Impact on external environment?
Qsa = Ai X Vi
Specifically,
Qsa = Nf X Am X Vm
Sources of MU air
Outside air
Away from exhaust stacks
Indoor building air
External to cleanroom
Should be made up to prevent building from going negative
Exhaust System
Few mechanical systems affect capital and operating costs as significantly
as exhaust
Exhaust determines quantity of make-up that must be provided
Every m3 of exhaust must be replaced by expansive make-up
If possible operations which require heat exhaust should be placed
outside cleanroom
Corrosive Scrubber
Usually located adjacent to cleanroom
Keep away from outside air intakes
Airflow modeling done to verify path of exhaust system
Life safety requires N+1 redundancy
Secondary containment of sump strongly recommended
Fans on variable frequency drives (VFDs)
Pumps and Fans on emergency power
Isolation dampers between ducts and scrubbers
Corrosive Exhaust
Use caution if mixing various exhaust types in same exhaust system
Use caution with NH3 exhaust (plume)
FRP duct may require sprinklers if >25cm dia.
Facilities related issues:
Corrosive of heads
Maintenance of wax or poly bag
Flooded duct – drain system – acid waste
Qty: Process determined (use matrix)
32 cm/h/h per 1m2 of “Fab”
(5cfm per 1ft2 of Mfg. Clean Space)
Pressure: -622pa (-2.5in.) at tool
Velocity: 6m/s – 10m/s (1200 – 2000fpm)
Carbon adsorption
Concentrates and collects
Relatively low concentration
Relatively low volumes
Regenerate with hot air/ stream
Multiple units => higher capital costs
Low efficiencies/ adsorbs water
Design parameters
Design consideration affecting specification of temperature
Personnel consideration
Control temp so as to maintain environment where people can
efficiently function
Smocks/ light activity:
70 oF – 76 oF (21 oC –24 oC)
Full cleanroom garments
64 oF – 70 oF (18 oC –21 oC)
Strenuous activities: lower temps
Range usually 1.4 oC – 2.1 oC (2 o F– 3 o F)
Process-related considerations
Precise dimensional stability
Chemical/ physical processes
Process equipment
Identify process temperature considerations early in
programming
Heat-generating equipment causes localised fluctuations in
temperature – very difficult to remedy if equipment runs
intermittently
Economics of temperature
Cleanrooms require cooling year round due to heat of mechanical
equipment, lighting, process equipment, and personnel
Cooling load increases as cleanliness class improves due to larger/
more equipment
Avoid placing process equipment that generates large amounts of
heat in temperature control areas
Excessively stringent ranges are costly, difficult to achieve and
maintain
Low cost: 1 oC => standard controls
Mod cost: .5 oC => DDC controls and reheat
High cost: < .5 oC => high qual. Industrial electronic controls
Temperature variations can reduced by using smaller zones – but
this requires additional instrumentation
Exhaust considerations in temp. specs
Increased exhaust => increase in conditioned make-up air
Amount of conditioning that make-up requires depends on T
between outside air and targeted indoor temp
Minimise total exhaust and T (subject to safety requirements)
Airflow pattern in temp. specs
Mixing conditioned supply air and recirculated RA required for
maximum efficiency
Mixing airflow room or rooms with improperly spaced inlets and
outlets – cause stagnant pockets and temperature gradients –
results in high particle concentration and inefficiency in operation
of a/c systems
Construction materials and temp specs
Standard construction materials perform well in range of 60 oF –
80 oF (15.6 oC – 26.7 oC )
For very low and high temp – select materials that withstand
temperature cycling
Monitoring and control of temperature (for temporal and spatial
uniformity)
Monitor temperature on continuing basis and observe trends –
use chart recorders or data acquisition systems
Humidity and dewpoint
Cleanroom humidity specified by desired value of % r.h. and tolerance
Example: 45 (5) % r.h
Alternative to specifying r.h. is dew point temperature
Example: 10 (1.4) oC [50 (2) oF]
Dehumification
Moisture removed from air by contact with cooling coil surface operating
below the desired dewpoint:
5.6 oC (42 oF) chilled water coil capable of dehumidfying to 40% RH
0 oC (32 oF) ethylene glycol coil is used for dehumidfying to 30%RH
Below 30% RH desiccant Humidification usually used
Humidification
Moisture added to air by:
Direct injection of water (usually not efficient for larger systems)
Evaporative
Atomizing humidfiers
Compressed air atomizes water into mist which evaporates
quickly
Steam injection
Direct injection: used where steam is building heating medium (or
otherwise available)
Air quality affected by boiler water chemical additives
Electric humidifier:
Electric resistance heating elements produce steam
Used where steam and natural gas are not available
Expensive to operate
Air quality depends on quality of water being boiled
Heat exchanger humidifiers:
Commonly used for microelectronics facilities
Low pressure steam or water at 116 oC (240 oF) suppliers heat
to a stainless steel evaporating chamber producing “clean”
steam
Frequently RO or DI is used for makeup water
Advantages:
Maybe used without steam boilers
Low operating cost
“Clean steam”
DI water corrosive – acts as a “weak” acid
“Clean steam” produced from DI water is very
aggressive
Stainless steel materials downstream of humidifier
Frequently RO water is used – “Clean” but not as
aggressive
Gas Distribution Systems
Gas systems:
Categories:
Inert
Flammable
Toxic
Corrosive
Concerns
Particle levels
Purity levels
Materials of construction
Copper, brass
304, 304L, stainless steel
316, 316L, stainless steel
Hastelloy (C-22)
Nickel
Surface smoothness
Surface area
Surface passivation (reduction of free iron)
Virtual leaks
Joining techniques
Threaded
Socket welds
Butt welds
Orbital butt welds
Mechanical fittings
Radial compression (Swage-Lok)
Longitudinal compression (VCR, VCO)
Valves
Ball
Bellows
Diaphragm
Leak checking
Bubble test
Helium leak test
Inboard
Outboard
Typical leak rates
Polyvinyls
PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)
Good tensile strength
Good chemical resistance
Not appropriate over 60 oC (140 oF)
Poor combustion characteristics
CPVC (Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride)
Good for temperature up to 210 oF
Self extinguishing
Polyolefins
Polypropylene
Very good strength
Excellent chemical resistance
Good for temperatures up to 82 oC (180 oF)
Excellent for industrial waste
Polyethylene
Poor mechanical strength
Good chemical resistance below 49 oC (120 oF)
Used frequently in tanks and liners
Fluoropolymers
PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride)
Considerable strength
Excellent chemical resistance
Good for temp. to 138 oC (280 oF)
Excellent for high purity systems
Fluoropolymers (Teflons)
PTFE: excellent chem./ temp. properties; cannot be molded or extruded
FEP: extended temp. range -54 - 204 oC (-65 - 400 oF); often used for
coatings
PFA: better temperature range -54 - 260 oC (-65 - 500 oF); good molding/
machining properties
Other concerns
Surface smoothness
Surface area
Joining techniques
Valves
Ball
Diaphragm
Leak rates
Expansion loops for hot distribution system
Heaters for hot DIW
PCW design
Redundant components common
Control valve used in return loop to maintain low back pressure
Control valves often used at supply and return to tools to balance flow
System sizing: (use matrix…or)
2 l/s per 100m2 of clean mfg. Space (30gpm per 1000ft2 of Fab)
PCW specification
Heat exchanger
316L SS plate and frame
EPDM gaskets
Recirculation pumps
316L SS for wetted parts
variable speed drive (VFD) controlled
Storage tank
FRP
Biocide metering
316L SS for wetted parts
Filters
316L SS construction
3.0 m rated
pipe/ valves:
PVC
CPVC
Copper
304 SS
CDA design
Usually designed as low to medium purity system
Located in the central plant to minimize vibration
Often used for instrument and utility air (separated distribution systems)
Quantity: (use matrix if possible)
12 l/s per 100m2 of clean mfg space (30cfm per 1000ft2 of Fab)
Increase size minimum 10% to handle dryer regeneration
Chilled water used for aftercoolers and compressor intercoolers
Emergency power to cooling water and compressor
Redundant unit common
CDA specifications
Compressors
Two stage
Rotary screw
Water cooled
Sound attenuated cabinet (noise 75dba 1m from carbinet)
Coalescing filter
0.3 m rated
Desiccant dryers
Dry air to dewpoint of –40 oC to -73 oC
Tower type, blower purge
Regenerative activated alumina desiccant
Final filter
0.2 m rated
316L Stainless steel housing
Distribution piping
Copper
304 SS
316L SS
DI water technologies
Filtration
Multimedia
Cartridge/ submicron
Ultrafiltration
Reverse osmosis
Single pass
Two pass
Deionization
Ion exchange resins
Electrodialysis
RO pre-treatment
Multi-media filter
Layers of increasingly fine and more
Dense filter media remove undissolved particles larger than 10 m
May include carbon filters
RO heat exchanger
Water temperature raised to 26 oC (77 oF) for maximum membrane
Efficiency prior to entering RO system
Chemical pretreatment
Anti-scalant chemicals added sulfuric acid injected to lower pH prior
to RO
Sodium Bisulfite added to remove chlorine prior to RO system
Primary prefilters
1.0 m filters remove suspended particles and provide final mixing of
pretreatment chemicals
UPW distribution
Reverse return configuration commonly used to maintain velocities and
balance system
Second return leg is configured into system
Water passes by and through tool and returns via reverse return leg
Primary return maintains circulation for overall system
Design velocities
Supply mains/ laterals: 1.1 – 1.8 m/s (3.5 – 6 fps)
Return mains: 0.6 m/s (2.5fps)
Control velocities because too slow bacteria will grow and too fast
erosion
Contaminants of interest:
Moisture ***
Oxygen
Hydrocarbons
Particles
Purity levels
Purity levels expressed in volumetric concentration of total contaminants:
PPM n/106 (parts per million)
PPB n/109 (parts per billion)
PPT n/1012 (parts per trillion)
PPQ n/1015 (parts per quadrillion)
Current typical purity requirements:
Low PPB or high PPT ranges
Typical concerns
Gas particle levels
Gas purity levels
Materials of construction
System surface smoothness
System surface area
More concerns
Surface passivation (reduction of free ion)
Virtual leaks
Joining techniques
Threaded (???)
Socket welded (???)
Butt welds, orbital butt welds
Mechanical fittings
Radial compression (swage-lok ?)
Longitudinal compression (VCR, VCO), (“face seal fittings”)
Valves
Ball (???)
Bellows
Diaphragm
Leak checking
Bubble test (???)
Helium leak test
Inboard
Outboard
Typical leak rates
System goal
System should be as close as possible to being
“particle free”
“outgas free”
“dead zone free”
“leak free”
“plastic free”
“maintenance free”
Material of construction
Pipe, tube, fittings, valve & regulator bodies, filter housings:
electropolished stainless steel
304L, 316L, 321
Valve designs
Bellows
Diaphragm
Gaskets, o-rings, valves seats
EPDM, Viton, Kel-F, Kal-Rez (?)
EP Nickel
Ag (silver) coated stainless steel (??)
Filter media:
Sintered stainless steel
PTFE
Note:
Older systems with low ppm to high ppb purity levels sometimes use:
Copper pipe and fittings
Brass valves & regulator bodies
Silver solder
Threaded joints
Ball valves
(Not recommended for UHP applications)
Joining techniques
Welding
Automated orbital arc welds
HP Ar internal purge
Separate HP Ar external purge
Face seal fittings
VCR, VCO, Vacu-seal,….
System testing
Leak testing
Static pressure decay
Outboard Helium leak test
Inboard Helium leak test
Moisture test
Purity assays (?)
Spec gas distribution
Specialty gases for production process
Each gas used in few process steps
Used in trace to small quantities
Supplied from cylinders
UHP grades used
Spec gases
Categories include:
Inert
Toxic
Corrosive
Flammable
Pyrophoric
Spec gases may be more than one category
Examples include:
HBr, HCl, HF
SiH4, SiH2Cl2, SiHCl3, SiCl4, SiF4
AsH3, B2H6, PH3
SF6, CF4, N2O, WF6
ClF3, NF3, NH3, BBr3, BCl3, BF3
Many others
Typical concerns
Gas particle levels
Materials of construction
System leak rates
System surface smoothness
System surface area
More concerns
Material selection
Joining techniques
Orbital butt welds
Mechanical fittings
Longitudinal compression (VCR, VCO) (“face seal fitting”)
Distance from gas cylinder to tool
Pressure and volume flow control
Cylinder change out and purging
System testing
Leak testing
Static pressure decay
Outboard Helium leak test (?)
Inboard Helium leak test
Moisture test
Purity assays (?)
System goal
System should be as close as possible to being
“particle free”
“outgas free”
“dead zone free”
“leak free”
“plastic free”
“maintenance free”
Material of construction
Pipe, tube, fittings, valve & regulator bodies, filter housings:
Electropolished stainless steel
304L, 316L, 321
EP Nickel
Hastelloy (C-22) (??)
Valve designs
Diaphragm
Gaskets, o-rings, valves seats
EPDM, Viton, Kel-F, Kal-Rez (?)
EP Nickel
Filter media:
PTFE
Joining techniques
Welding
Automated orbital arc welds
HP Ar internal purge
Separate HP Ar external purge
Face seal fittings
VCR, VCO, Vacu-seal,….
Waste collection systems
Typical acid wastes
Nitric acid
Hydrofluoric acid*
Mixed acids
Sulfuric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrogen peroxide
Typical solvent wastes
Glycol
Alcohol
Acetates
Acetone
NMP
HMDs
Waste collection
Gravity feed (preferred) or pumped
Each sep. waste stream => separate tank
Common or separate backup tanks required
Tanks sized for transport => ~20000L (~5000gal)
Tanks sized for weekly operations
Containment
Concrete structures typically
Capacity = 110% X largest tank
Covered
Epoxy coated
6mm HDPE membrane
Leak detection
AWN specifications
Pumps
Air double diaphragm
PVDF wetted parts
PTFE body
Polypro body for HF
Viton, PFA or Neoprene Diaphragm
Piping
PFA
CPVC for HF
Tanks
PVDF-lined FRP
Halar-lined FRP
Pump diaphragm selection
Acid Neoprene Viton
Sulfuric SD Yes
Nitric SD Yes
HF SD Yes
Acetic No SD
Phosphoric No Yes
SD => marginally OK but Some Degradation expected
Vibration
Cleanrooms often contain equipment and processes that are sensitive to
vibration
Electron/ optical microbalances/ scopes and photolithography equipment
very sensitive
Few manufacturers of equipment publish specifications regarding
required vibration criteria
Owners/ designers often rely on generic criteria
This criteria has profound effect on cost and flexibility of facility
Site selection
Ambient vibration must be measured and be below criteria by
comfortable margin – evaluate both steady state and transient sources
Soil conditions significantly affect site vibration – geotechnical and soils
reports essential