EGR347/EGE340 SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY

Laboratory 1: Surveying Cleanroom Cleanliness

Objectives: 1) Introduction

2) To learn how to use particle measuring counter

3) To determine the cleanliness of clean room

Apparatus: Particle Counter

Introduction
Cleanroom are classified by the cleanliness of their air. The method used most widely is the
Federal standard 209.

To classify cleanroom, the number of particles equal to and greater than 0.5um is measured in
one cubic foot of air.

Federal standard 209 Edition D

Measured Particle size (um)
Class 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 5.0
1 35 7.5 3 1 NA
10 350 75 30 10 NA
100 NA 750 300 100 NA
1000 NA NA NA 1000 7
10000 NA NA NA 10000 70
100000 NA NA NA 100000 7000

In 1999, the classification of cleanroom was changed to ISO standard.

ISO 14644-1 begin to come into effect. The difference:

1. Adds 3 classes. 2 cleaner than class 1 and 1 dirtier than class 100,000
2. uses metric (meters cube instead of feet cube) 1 foot = 0.3048 meter

ISO 14644-1
Measured Particle size (um)
Class 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 1.0 5.0
ISO 1 10 2
ISO 2 100 24 10 4
ISO 3 1000 237 102 35 8
ISO 4 10000 2370 1020 352 83
ISO 5 100000 23700 10200 3520 832 29
ISO 6 1000000 237000 102000 35200 8320 293

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ISO 14644-1 cleanroom standards

maximum particles/m³ FED STD 209E

Class
≥0.1 µm ≥0.2 µm ≥0.3 µm ≥0.5 µm ≥1 µm ≥5 µm equivalent
ISO 1 10 2.37 1.02 0.35 0.083 0.0029
ISO 2 100 23.7 10.2 3.5 0.83 0.029
ISO 3 1,000 237 102 35 8.3 0.29 Class 1
ISO 4 10,000 2,370 1,020 352 83 2.9 Class 10
ISO 5 100,000 23,700 10,200 3,520 832 29 Class 100
ISO 6 1.0×106 237,000 102,000 35,200 8,320 293 Class 1,000
7 6
ISO 7 1.0×10 2.37×10 1,020,000 352,000 83,200 2,930 Class 10,000
8 7 7
ISO 8 1.0×10 2.37×10 1.02×10 3,520,000 832,000 29,300 Class 100,000
ISO 9 1.0×109 2.37×108 1.02×108 35,200,000 8,320,000 293,000 Room air

The following experiment will go through the procedures on how to determine the clean room
classification.

PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE CLEAN ROOM CLASSIFICATION

1. Determine the sample locations and number

It is necessary to take sufficient samples of air to have confidence that the airborne
particle concentration of the room is within limits set by the standards.

ISO 14644-1 gives formulae

NL=√A

NL is the minimum number of sampling locations

A is the area of the cleanroom in m2

2. Airborne sampling Volume

It is necessary to determine the minimum volume of air to be sampled at each location. As

the particles in clean room are low,, a large air sample will be required to be confident that
results are of a standard.

The volume of air should be large enough to count 20 particles of the desired
measurement.

Vs= 20/C x 1000

Vs: min vol / location ( in litres)

C: is the class limit (number of particles / m3 )
20 is a predefined number. It denotes the number of particles that could be counted if
particle concentrations were at the class limit.

The min vol should be 2L and min sample time should be 1 min,

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3. Computation of Average particle concentration at a location

Obtain the average particle concentration by adding all the readings and divide by the
number of sites.

For number of samples less than 10, computation of confidence limit have to be done.

95% UCL= Average + (t X standard error of the mean)

where standard error of mean = s/√ (N L)

t factor for 95% UCL

Number of locations 2 3 4 5 6 7-9

95% UCL Factor 6.3 2.9 2.4 2.1 2.0 1.9

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Operation of HACH Metone 3400 particle counter

1 Sample intake nozzle 8 USB host connector

2 Touchscreen 9 USB client connector
3 Power button 10 Relative humidity and temperature probe connector
4 Battery status indicator 11 Air velocity probe connector
5 Ethernet connector 12 Handle
6 Handle 13 Wireless antenna connector
7 Printer 14 Power connector

Position 2 Screen Icon Description

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 Icon Function Description
Measure particle counts

Sample

Historical Review measurement results in the buffer; print,

export or filter data.

Export Output file as comma separated value (CSV), tab

separated, or PortAll files.

Printer Print sample data as hard-copy.

Locations Add/edit/remove areas; copy location settings, edit

locations settings; edit alarms for

specific locations.

System Time/Date; Sleep time/backlight timeout; set logon

requirements; set sounds for alarms;
manage users; set the units for flow rates; manage the
data buffer. Refer to the CD for

more information.
Test Wizard Test and report wizard for ISO, EU-GMP, FS or BS
classification compliance.

The counter is able to do a calculation based on the

data that have been taken to confirm the cleanliness
of the clean room.
Return Return to the previous screen or menu

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Operation
Log on to the particle counter
Prerequisites
• Start the system.
1. Activate the backlight with a finger or stylus if needed.

Setup
After a complete particle count measurement, the number of particles measured will
show on the screen and be stored as data. Other configured parameters, such as
relative humidity, temperature and air velocity will be shown and stored in data.
1. Remove the protective cap from the inlet tube on the counter.
2. On the Counter Navigation screen, push SAMPLE.
3. Check on Quick settings to ensure the following:

Measure particle counts

4. Check that the address is set to Area1\Location1.
5. To start the particle count, push the RUN button. The RUN button will change
to a STOP button while the count is measured.
Note: Push STOP to end the test before the count is complete. Incomplete
particle count data will not be stored or printed.
6. When the count measurement is complete, the test will stop automatically.
7. Record the data into the table on page 8 of this labsheet.

Change the particle count location

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 8. On the Sample screen, push the PLUS button to increment the location, or
push the MINUS button to decrement the location.
Location and group settings can be seen at any time during the particle
count cycle.
9. Repeat Step 5 to 8 for the rest of the locations

See historical data during the particle count

Historical sample data can be seen at any time during the particle count cycle.

• On the Sample screen, select the ARROW button.

• Select the HISTORICAL DATA icon to see the data.

Results/Discussion/Questions
1. Calculate the area of Room A within our cleanroom.

a. Calculate the minimum number of sampling locations for room A.

2. If we want to identify particle siz of >= 0.5um, for a ISO class 5 cleanroom.

a. Identify c.
b. Calculate Vs(min Vol).

3. Perform measurements and compute the answers using the following format.

1 litres = 0.001 cubic meters

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 a. Fill in the blanks (Just take the number of readings needed)

Sampling Number of particles Number of particles

Location >=0.5um/28litres >=0.5um/m3
Location1
Location2
Location3
Location4
Location5
Location6
Location7
Location8
Location9

b. Find the average.

c. Find the standard deviation using excel. (s)

Find the standard error of the mean. (s/√ (N L))

d. Does the clean room meet the criteria? Comment.

Room A

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Verification
The equipment is able to do an auto-calculation based on the readings calculated.

To verify the results that you have calculated, you need to clear the buffer before you start the
experiment. The location and area also need to be properly setup.

• Select

• Setup the following:

• After selecting the data, a report will be generated