Whole room disinfection

Removal of airborne molecular contaminants (AMC) in cleanrooms

Objective:

The objective of the project is to develop a system for effective removal of airborne molecular contaminants (AMC) in cleanrooms.

Justification:

Current ISO cleanroom standards are not sufficient to meet the requirements for the modern semiconductor industry. Facilities built according to the most stringent standards experience decreased production yield due to defects caused by AMC. The top 10 semiconductor manufacturing companies constituted 72% of global market in 2015 and it is estimated that achieving a 1% yield improvement, would mean an additional annual turnover of $2.96 billion. Currently competing solutions are based on either thermal oxidation and/or absorption filtration. None of these systems deliver long term results at an adequate level and often re-emission of harmful species is seen at problematic levels (ppt to ppb level).

Method:

Infusers core technologies will be used to build a cleaning unit that will be tested and validated through collaboration with the Fraunhofer institute in Germany. The unit will be subjected to long term testing in a clean-room environment by the Fraunhofer institute at their premises.

Expected outcome:

A test unit that shows effective removal of clean-room relevant species at a higher level than competing activated char-coal filters. It is also expected that the lifetime of the unit will be extended with minimal use of consumables, like e.g. filter material.

Tangible goals:

• First milestone: Design of test unit
• Second milestone: Construction of test unit
• Third milestone: Internal tests validate performance conducted in Infusers Air-Quality Laboratory
• Forth milestone: Tests at the Fraunhofer Institute validates the unit