CleanRooms articles from July 2003

CleanRooms archives from July 2003

West '03 to spotlight "cleanroom of the future". (Clean Zone).(conference)
July 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It's back to the basics for the CleanRooms West 2003 conference tracks, but that's not to say there's nothing new about the conference and exhibition that will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Sept. 22-24. The...

Competition for biotech manufacturing becomes heated: southeast could take the early lead due to cheap land, educated work force.
July 1, 2003... BOSTON -- From California to North Carolina and north through Pennsylvania and Massachussetts, economic development folks have gold in their eyes when the topic turns to biotechnology--and with good reason. The biotechnology boom is...

SARS presents containment, garment conundrum.(severe acute respiratory syndrome)
July 1, 2003... TORONTO -- Nurses caring for SARS patients here want garments ranging from facemasks to full-body "moon suits" at their disposal throughout all shifts, now that even well-protected hospital workers are still being infected with the deadly...

Forecasts call for modest growth in chip sales: China will the get the lion's share for years to come, experts say.
July 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- As chip and microelectronics industry organizations scale back forecasts for industries already struggling to reduce costs and boost sales, Asia--China specifically--is continually being selected as the land of manufacturing...

Confirming those gut instincts. (Viewpoint).(electronics production forecasts)
July 1, 2003... No matter how skeptical you are about industry forecasts, the batch that hit the wires this past month has firmly solidified the gut instincts that many electronics manufacturing trend-watchers have had for a couple years. A juicy Booz...

Rising fab costs likely to drive global R&D collaboration. (News).(semiconductor fabrication)
July 1, 2003... AUSTIN, Texas -- With semiconductor fab costs increasing 15 percent a year and R&D expenses rising faster than 20 percent a year, Sematech President and CEO Michael Polcari predicts increasing globalization of research and development, with...

FDA drafts kinder, gentler record-keeping guidelines. (News).(Food and Drug Administration rules on electronic records)
July 1, 2003... ROCKVILLE, Md. -- When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yanked its proposed guidance on electronic record keeping, many thought their prayers had been answered. While that thrill was short-lived, all walks of the life sciences will have...

Metron buys Prudential's consumables division. (Particles).(Prudential Cleanroom Services, Metron Technology)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... IRVINE, Calif. -- Prudential Cleanroom Services, a laundry services provider, has sold its consumable products distribution business to Metron Technology, a United Kingdom-based distributor of contamination control products and services. ...

Leo salute? (Particles).(Da Vinci wafer cleaner from SEZ Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ZURICH, Switzerland -- The SEZ Group, a maker of single-wafer cleaning technology for the semiconductor industry, has unveiled its "Da Vinci"--a wet-surface-preparation spin processing product series. The Da Vinci series footprint has been...

Nano U. (Particles).(Nanotechnology Design and Research Center at University at Albany)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ALBANY, N.Y. -- M+W Zander, a subsidiary of the Jenoptik technology group, has received an order from the University at Albany (SUNY) for the design and construction of a new Nanotechnology Design and Research Center. M+W Zander U.S....

Gas classer. (Particles).(method for identifying outgassed compounds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ROLLING MEADOWS, ILL -- The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST), has released IEST-RP-CC031.1. Method for Characterizing Outgassed Organic Compounds from Cleanroom Materials and Components. Developed under Working...

Act locally, move to China? (On the Beat).(offshore production of microelectronics)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... There's something to be said for thinking globally by acting locally, but it seems the majority of chip and microelectronics manufacturers in the United States have misunderstood this fashionable phrase. Rather, they have taken it to the...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... Raise floor when needed Michael Kopp (CleanRooms, May, 2003, pg. 34) mentions microelectronics and nan-otechnology ISO Class 6 and cleaner rooms "usually require ceiling diffusers, and perforated floors above a return plenum space." This...

A modest proposal: how about a cleanroom restroom? (Electronics).
July 1, 2003... Last month, I broached a potentially touchy subject of "cleanroom cystitis," or the documented higher incidence of urinary tract infections (UTI) among cleanroom workers compared to that of non-cleanroom workers at a semiconductor facility. (1)...

Pharma regulation: the more things change, the more they stay the same. (Life Sciences).(auditing pharmaceutical industry processes)
July 1, 2003... Corporations are in a constant state of change, moving. from one approach of managing business to another. Within regulated industries, such as pharmaceutical, the relationships between regulators and the companies they regulate are a classic...

Gas leak testing: balancing time and money with accuracy. (Setting the Standard).
July 1, 2003... Over the past two months, we considered the subject of leaks in high-purity gas systems. We discussed the concept of partial pressure differences as being the primary driving force that moves gas-phase contaminants (and small particles) from...

ESD a holistic approach: with line widths dipping below 90 nanometers, chip speeds moving through the three gigahertz clock speed and barrier ESD thresholds going even lower, fab owners have found a new mantra in S20.20. (Special Report).(electrostatic discharge standards)
July 1, 2003... Like the actual phenomena of electrostatic discharge (ESD), the latest set of control tools is largely invisible. And while there continues to be new product developments in terms of tangible items--fabrics, wrist straps and...

Ductile displays yield flexible photolithography. (News).(electronic-ink display screen)
July 1, 2003... What sounds like an all too familiar paperboy problem is actually the concept behind E Ink. Corp.'s flexible electronic-ink display screen, a giant step toward changing the way the world receives information and even how substrates are...

Modular vacuum. (Inventor's Corner).
July 1, 2003... This vacuum cleaner can be donned by cleanroom personnel, and features detachable filter and motor units. Each of the four chamber connections (A) contains a different filter: HEPA (B), cyclonic (C), wet/dry (D) and paper (E). The...

Wet process decontamination. (Inventor's Corner).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The method for wet-processing of a semiconductor-containing substrate reduces contamination by removing undesired gas contamination. The method uses liquid and vacuum pumps (A) to funnel a processing liquid through a degasifier (B),...

Suit dryer. (Inventor's Corner).(hazardous material suit)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The apparatus for drying cleanroom and hazardous material suits uses a blower (A) and heating elements (B) mounted through a neck, wrist or ankle seal (C). The heated and compressed air is channeled through the suit via an air distribution...

Enhanced load port. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... The Fixload 6M is an enhanced update of Brooks Automation's 300-mm load port product line, and offers a wide choice of plug-and-play options designed for greater flexibility. An optional single-connector interface provides command control of...

SMIF pod series. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... The newest wafer and reticle carrier (WRO) offerings from Entegris include a selection of SMIF pods designed to protect, store and transport lithography reticles. The RSP150 series features an advanced reticle isolation system designed to...

Fully-automated wafer handler. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... For SHEMA-compatible screen/stencil printers, the fully automated Adept WLM wafer-handling solution supports wafer sizes up to 300 mm, including thinned wafers. It was initially designed for bump and semiconductor ball placement applications....

Mask transport box. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... Transport boxes are suitable for all 6-inch masks, reticles and blanks as defined in SEMI standard P1-92. The lightweight, stainless steel boxes feature a carrier for automated handling, an open structure, and are designed for automated...

Atmospheric robot. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... The Axys Direct is an atmpospheric, dual end-effector robot that its manufacturer says is designed to improve equipment efficiency by offering faster and more reliable wafer-swap operation than comparable devices. The 5-axis robot replaces a...

FOUP for One. (Wafer Handlers).
July 1, 2003... The Front-Opening Unified Pod for One is an advanced SWIF pod technology for 300-mm semiconductor facilities. The single-wafer capacity FOUP offers all standard features specified by the FOUP SEMI standards. It is designed to be compatible with...

Wipe dry, wipe clean: new wiper assessment tests emerge: Dynamic Wiping Efficiency and Particle Removal Ability tests set out to solve the illusive "in use" conditions need. (Wiper Testing).
July 1, 2003... While wipers and other consumable products are critical to the maintenance and function of an effective cleanroom enviromnent, these products have the potential to contaminate the very environment they're meant to protect. Fully...

Guidelines to protect the value your cleanroom creates: an essential examination of FM Approvals' testing criteria for cleanroom materials and fume and smoke-exhaust systems used in cleanrooms. (Fire Safety Basics).(FM Global engineering guidelines)
July 1, 2003... In the mid-1990s, several semiconductor companies had fire losses totaling nearly $750 million. As a result, both the semiconductor industry and insurance companies realized the need to properly manage fire risk in this critical industry. ...

Shelf grounding. (New Products).
July 1, 2003... The ESD Clip electrically connects a wire shelf to a shelf post to reduce the ESD risks caused by ungrounded shelving. The clip installs without tools in about five seconds to fully assembled and loaded shelving, and provides visual indication...

Bag unloader. (New Products).
July 1, 2003... Used with the company's compressed air-powered vacuum conveyors, the Bulk Bag Unloader is a fully contained unit for the unloading of bulk bags. The company explains that with the bulk bag elevated above the station, the spout of the bag is...

Knitted polyester mop. (New Products).
July 1, 2003... BCR Mop4 is designed for both contamination removal from floors and disintectant distribution. The mop is made of 100-percent knitted, laundered polyester, which features a tubular knit construction and is edgeless to minimize particle...

Softwall cleanrooms. (New Products).
July 1, 2003... Series 550 vertical flaw softwall cleanrooms feature full-ceiling HEPA filter plenum sections and are available in a number of configurations. According to the manufacturer, the series features a modular design with all-metal construction that...

SEMI S14: a fire-risk management tool for end users, too. (Unfiltered).(safety guideline )
July 1, 2003... As a consultant conducting SEMI S14 fire risk assessments since its introduction in 2000, readers would expect me to actively promote the application of fire risk assessment to semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Three years since its...