Determining the cleanroom suitability of user-specific materials

The demand for products and materials suitable for cleanroom applications is increasing dramatically. A survey carried out by the Fraunhofer IPA last year showed that the number of cleanroom-suitable materials and products has increased six-fold within the last twelve years just in the range used by the 300 participants in the survey. The meaning of the term “cleanroom-suitable materials” is not always very clear, despite the fact that the term was defined about two years ago in the VDI Guideline 2083 (Part 8) titled “Methods and procedures for assessing the cleanroom suitability of operating materials”. At least 42 percent of the people questioned stated that none of their customers ever gave them clear specifications regarding the materials to be used. “As a rule, only a demand for cleanroom suitability is made. However, such requirements cannot be fulfilled without more detailed information” stated Udo Gommel from the Fraunhofer IPA. This is due to the fact that, in contrast with operating utilities, up till now there have been no clear definitions regarding the cleanroom suitability of materials, nor have any testing methods been specified. 

The cleanroom experts at the Fraunhofer IPA now intend to remedy this deficit. A first step in the right direction was taken at the beginning of 2004 when the industrial alliance “Cleanroom-suitable materials RTW” was founded. The aim of the industrial alliance “RTW” is to combine state-of-the-art technology and knowledge under the theme of “cleanroom-suitable materials” and to support their advancement. The alliance also intends to place the characterization and selection of materials for cleanroom applications on firm foundations. All of the cleanroom users questioned are striving for standardized, clearly-defined test and assessment algorithms for materials. Mr. Gommel sees the alliance as being a major step towards achieving such standards. “Such cooperations have already proved their worth in the past for solving other technical tasks, such as obtaining standardized specifications for pure media” he explained. The contents of the industrial alliance are determined by the participating companies themselves. Their active cooperation in identifying and characterizing new materials and coating systems guarantees participants a clear competitive advantage. This will provide participants with practical tools which can be used to soundly select materials and test their cleanroom suitability with the aid of standardized procedures. 

The aim of Phase 1 of the industrial research group “Cleanroom-suitable materials RTW” was to specify the cleanroom suitability of materials and to develop and establish appropriate algorithms. This first phase of the industrial alliance was successfully completed in February 2005 using exactly these standards. »A standardized method for testing the cleanroom suitability of material pairings« now exists as also »An assessment algorithm for determining the cleanroom suitability of materials« and last but not least »A material test bench for obtaining reproducible test results« stated the physicist Gommel on summarizing the results. Due to the successful cooperative development of a basis for testing materials, in the second phase user-specific materials for cleanroom applications are going to be tested. A collection of data will be compiled which will be accessible to all partners of the alliance. 

Phase 2 will commence with a kick-off meeting at the Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart, Germany on the 12th of May 2005. The meeting will inform interested companies both about the current state of research as far as the »cleanroom suitability of materials« is concerned and also about the contents of Phase 2 of the industrial alliance. The kick-off meeting is free of charge. The alliance is still accepting industrial participants as new members for Phase 2.

Who to contact: 

Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering 
and Automation IPA 
Dipl.-Phys. Udo Gommel 
Tel: +49(0)711/970-1633 
E-Mail: udo.gommel@ipa.fraunhofer.de 

Further Information:  www.ipa-qualification.com