Semiconductor chip cleanroom

With the rapid development of science and technology, semiconductor chips have become one of the core components of modern electronic products. In order to ensure the quality and production efficiency of semiconductor chips, the construction of clean rooms has become crucial. There are high requirements for the air quality of the production environment, and the air quality is related to the yield rate and product quality. Many semiconductor industries require cleanrooms.

Semiconductor Cleanroom Principle

Cleanroom is a specially designed room that excludes dust particles, harmful gases, bacteria and other pollutants from the air within a certain space, and controls the indoor temperature, cleanliness, indoor pressure, air flow speed and distribution, noise vibration, lighting, and static electricity within a certain required range. In other words, the dust particles in this controlled room are quite rare.

Advantages Of Cleanroom Technology

The semiconductor manufacturing process has very high requirements and is very sensitive to dusty environments. Cleanroom technology can achieve good environmental control and effective filtering, making the manufacturing process free of pollution or with extremely low pollution. This provides unlimited possibilities for high quality and high efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing processes.

In the manufacturing process of modern semiconductor products, the key advantages of cleanroom technology include:

1.Improve production efficiency: A series of factors such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure can be controlled in the cleanroom to better regulate the manufacturing environment, thereby improving production efficiency.

2.Reduce product contamination rate: Particulate matter in the air in the clean room is finely filtered, with less pollution, thereby reducing the product contamination rate.

3.Improve product quality: Clean room technology can control the manufacturing environment and maintain a relatively constant temperature and humidity, thereby improving product quality.

4.Reduce production costs: Through clean room technology, the damage rate of products can be reduced and product quality can be improved. At the same time, it also reduces production costs

Air Cleanliness

The cleanliness standards of semiconductor material cleanrooms are mainly divided into several levels, from high to low: Class 100, Class 1000, Class 10000 and Class 100000. Among them, the Class 100 cleanliness standard is the highest and the requirements are very strict, while the Class 10000 cleanliness standard is relatively loose.

The Class 100 cleanliness standard is the highest level of cleanliness requirements in semiconductor material cleanrooms. At this level, the concentration of particulate matter in the air is required to be very low, and the total number of particles with a particle size equal to or greater than 0.5μm per cubic inch of air will not exceed 100. In addition, the requirements for microorganisms are also very strict, requiring that there are no microorganisms at all.

The Class 1000 cleanliness standard requires that the concentration of particulate matter in the air must not exceed 1000 dust particles greater than or equal to 0.5μm per cubic meter. The requirements for microorganisms are relatively low, and a certain number of microorganisms are allowed to exist.

The Class 10000 cleanliness standard requires that the concentration of particulate matter in the air must not exceed 10,000 per cubic meter. The requirements for microorganisms are relatively loose, and a certain number of microorganisms are allowed to exist.

The 100,000 cleanliness level standard is the lowest level of cleanliness requirement in semiconductor material cleanrooms. At this level, the concentration of particulate matter in the air must not exceed 100,000 per cubic meter. The requirements for microorganisms are relatively loose, and a certain number of microorganisms are allowed.

Effects Of Humidity On Cleanrooms

1. Bacterial growth

2. The range of room temperature that workers feel comfortable  

3. The appearance of static charge

4. Metal corrosion

5. Condensation of water vapor

6. Degradation of photolithography

7. Water absorption

Semiconductor manufacturing also has very strict requirements for temperature and humidity control. Generally speaking, the temperature in a clean room is controlled between 20-24 degrees Celsius and the humidity is controlled between 30-60%. The control of temperature and humidity has an important impact on the performance and reliability of the chip.

Bacteria and other biological contaminants (mold, viruses, fungi, mites) can actively reproduce in an environment with a relative humidity of more than 60%. Humidity should be controlled between 40% and 60% to minimize the impact of bacteria and respiratory infections, which is also the moderate range for human comfort.

Key Points Of Clean Workshop Design

1. Meet the requirements of production process for architectural design and realize high-performance manufacturing space and facilities. When designing the general plan, plane layout and section design of the clean workshop of the purification project, full consideration must be given to the rational use of the site and the requirements of process production. When designing the building of the purification clean workshop project, the relationship between the clean area and its related auxiliary area must be handled well.

2. Realize facilities that can operate economically, save energy, be easy to maintain and reduce construction costs. The architectural design of the purification clean workshop must ensure that the purification clean workshop is clean, easy to clean, prevent internal and external pollution, and prevent the generation, retention and accumulation of particles.

3. Highly reliable operating facilities should be used. The architectural design of the purification clean workshop should ensure the safe operation of the building equipment, and ensure the safety of personnel and property in the event of an accident. The main structure should have a grade level that is consistent with the level of process equipment, building treatment and decoration in the purification clean workshop, the durability and fire resistance of the clean workshop, and the decoration should be coordinated with the equipment level to make the investment last for a long time.

4. Facilities that can adapt to future changes should be realized. The architectural plane and spatial layout of the clean workshop should be flexible to create conditions for the adjustment of production processes.

The semiconductor cleanroom standard is a very important standard that is directly related to the success of semiconductor manufacturing. By strictly complying with the cleanroom standard, we can ensure that the air quality, temperature and humidity, static electricity control and other aspects of the semiconductor manufacturing process meet the requirements, thereby ensuring the manufacturing quality and performance of the chip. In the future semiconductor manufacturing process, the cleanroom standard will continue to play an important role and provide strong support for the development of the semiconductor industry.