What’s the Clean Room Protocol and What is Its Importance During Wafer Manufacturing?

The Clean Room Protocol is a collection of strict guidelines and practices intended to keep silicon wafer processing in a regulated setting with low levels of contamination. If contaminants such as dust, particles, chemical residues, and microorganisms come into contact with the semiconductor, they may result in defects in the final products.

Having a protocol for maintaining a clean room environment is key to preventing that. Let’s review some of the factors it entails.

What Does the Clean Room Protocol Involve?

Chip and semiconductor makers require strict cleanliness standards, air quality control, and contamination management practices. For that reason, clean room protocols involve several measurements.

Airborne particles are eliminated using Ultra-Low-Penetration Air (ULPA) or High-Efficiency Particle Air (HEPA) filters. HEPA filters typically remove 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger.  

Furthermore, to guarantee that particles are removed from delicate areas, clean room air is usually made to flow from the cleanest area—usually the processing area—to the dirtiest areas, like entryways. Laminar flow is used, meaning the air flows in a uniform direction, reducing turbulence that could stir up particles.  

It also has strict rules for workers, with protocols for employees on how to handle materials, gowning procedures, and how to act during an emergency. There are also clean room entry and exit procedures.  

Learn More About Silicon Wafer Processing

Proper airflow management, personal protective gear, regular monitoring, and routine cleaning are all essential to maintaining an environment that meets stringent semiconductor manufacturing requirements. Clean room standards are key to ensure that.

Here at Wafer World, we want to offer the best quality products possible, so we follow these standards strictly. If you want to learn more about how we ensure the quality of our products, reach out!