What is a Cleanroom?

If you’re new to the world of manufacturing, you might find yourself wondering, What is a cleanroom? And how do you keep it clean? The answer is as simple as you might think—for the most part. A cleanroom is a room that has a controlled environment to ensure that there are a minimum number of particles per cubic meter of air at a predetermined size. Since particle contamination can affect the performance of microelectronics, cleanrooms are necessary for their manufacturing process. 

Staff members are trained on how to maintain cleanroom standards to ensure they aren’t contaminated. In many cases, a company may employ several cleaning methods and require specialized protective dressing before entering a cleanroom. Most cleanrooms have airlocks attached to them where staff members undergo air showers and wear clothing that traps contaminants. 

Additionally, there are filters and other air control machines that maintain the standards of a cleanroom by purifying the air of particulates. These cleaning measures all ensure that cleanrooms stay free of any potential pollutants that can affect the performance of microelectronics. 

Cleanroom Classifications

The concentration of airborne particles in relation to the volume of air occupying the space in a cleanroom will determine the class it fits. The ideal classifications for microelectronics are class 100 to class 1000, depending on the manufacturing company‘s processes. 

Cleanroom specifications are stipulated in ISO 14644-1, which explains cleanroom classifications according to particle concentration per cubic meter of air. This standard, commonly known as the small numbers classification, also demonstrates that there is no room with zero particle concentration because maintaining the air cleanliness of that level would be impossible. 

The specifications assume that there is a relation between particle concentration and size. Therefore, a room with few large particulates has a higher concentration than a room with few small-sized particulates. Classifications range from ISO 1 to ISO 9, with ISO 9 representing the expected concentration of airborne particles in a non-cleanroom. 

Class 100 and Class 1000

A Class 100 cleanroom has a concentration of 100 particles per cubic meter of air, and it is known as an ISO 5 classification. So it tracks that a Class 1,000 (ISO 6) cleanroom would contain 1,000 particles per cubic meter of air. 

A typical office building has around 500,000 to 1 million particles per cubic foot of air, and the air outside in a city environment contains 35,000,000 particulates per cubic foot. Therefore, cleanrooms have much more clean, filtered air than regular spaces.

How Do We Maintain Cleanrooms? 

Geospace Technologies has a team of experts that ensure all cleanrooms meet ISO standards. Maintaining a cleanroom depends on the cleanroom design and laminar flow of the room’s air. The goal is to maintain clean air that will not contaminate machines or microelectronic production in any way. 

The cleanrooms are fitted with HEPA or ULPA filters that employ a laminar flow of room air to keep the air clean. To prevent air contamination while creating modular cleanrooms, filters are made of steel or other materials that don’t shed particulates. Air flows from the top of the room downwards, trapping any particulates. After, the air exits into the filters at the bottom, where it is recirculated once the particulates are removed.

Additionally, ultraviolet (UV) light disinfects the space by killing any airborne microbial and fungal contaminants. UV light is an excellent option for killing contaminants because it is affordable and doesn’t involve harsh chemical disinfectants. Also, it reduces the work that the HVAC systems have to do to maintain clean air circulation through a cleanroom system. 

Cleanroom design also factors into the ease of maintaining the room’s air standards. We have room designs that allow for seamless workflow and airflow, creating the perfect environment for manufacturing microelectronics and semiconductors.

Why are Cleanrooms Important in Microelectronic Manufacturing? 

There are several reasons why microelectronics manufacturing requires the use of cleanrooms. The nature of microelectronics requires a controlled environment to ensure that the final products perform as they should. 

Quality Control

Quality control is among the reasons why microelectronics need to be manufactured in cleanrooms. Particulates can affect the designs of microelectronics and compromise their performance. Most products require a sterile environment during production, and Geospace Technologies has cleanrooms that meet the most stringent industry requirements. 

Ensuring high-quality microelectronics production in a 10k or 100k cleanroom is easy, and manufacturing in a cleanroom allows each unit to meet the client’s specifications up to 99.9% while meeting all functional requirements. 

Environmental Factors

Products like electronic device chips contain tiny conductors, and a speck of dust can ruin the whole chip, which is why a controlled environment is a crucial element in the manufacture of microelectronics. Different products have different requirements, from particle concentration to humidity and temperature, so maintaining spaces to fit all these specifications is another critical consideration for manufacturers. 

Equipment Protection

Microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing require cleaning, etching, dicing, doping, and photolithography machines. Machines whose internal components have been tainted by contaminants or particles can cause an error in product specifications, but maintaining clean ambient air ensures the machines work at optimum capacity. 

An error in the product specifications can affect the whole production process. Cleanrooms ensure that there are no particles in the air that can affect the design specifications of microelectronics because faulty products are not useful to the consumer. 

Industries That Need Cleanrooms 

Many industries require the use of cleanrooms to prevent contamination or errors in the production process. Industries that need cleanrooms have a small margin of error in the product design. A small error in product design can result in significant failure in the final products, so cleanrooms are critical to the following industries:

• Semiconductor manufacturing 
• Military 
• Department of Energy
• Pharmaceuticals 
• Biotech
• Medical devices
• Optics 
• Aerospace 

All the industries above handle delicate situations that require the use of unique devices. The cleanroom requirements of various industries can change depending on the size of the devices being manufactured and the complexity of their product designs. Still, any industry handling delicate manufacturing processes should invest in cleanroom production capabilities. 

Geospace Technologies—#1 Cleanroom Manufacturing Provider  

At Geospace Technologies, we have an array of cleanrooms designed for manufacturing microelectronics. Our cleanrooms meet Class 100 to Class 1000 ISO standards, and they have flexible settings. We can handle a wide variety of controlled environment, depending on your individual needs.

Our cleanrooms have spacious designs that allow excellent workflow during the manufacturing process and can be quickly customized to fit the manufacturing requirements of different clients and projects.

Equipped with an answer to the question: What is a cleanroom?, all that remains to guarantee your microelectronics are produced in an uncontaminated environment is making a phone call. Reach out to a member of our team to discuss your cleanroom needs.