New clean manufacturing and development facility uses pilot production line to test materials for electronics manufacturers
10/01/2007
Silecs recently unveiled its new world-class materials manufacturing and R&D facility in Espoo, Finland. Designed from the ground up, the new ISO 9001-compliant facility comprises a total of 27,000 square feet and uses the most sophisticated and environmentally responsible production and quality control techniques available, according to the company. Within the facility the company’s polymer materials are manufactured in a Class 1000 (ISO 6) cleanroom that mirrors the advanced production techniques of microelectronics manufacturers. Polymer filtration is conducted in pristine Class 100 (ISO 5) cleanroom conditions. Even the packaging activities are conducted in an 11,000-square foot Class 10000 (ISO 7) environment. This “copy exact” manufacturing strategy-from R&D to pilot lines to volume production-is at the heart of Silecs’ “risk mitigation” commitment to its customers.
According to CEO Jack Kokko, the same copy exact philosophy extends beyond Silecs’ manufacturing activities and into the company’s world-class process applications lab. “Here, Silecs’ materials are put to the test on a pilot semiconductor production line, going through the same process steps that our customers use in their facilities. This makes it possible for us to take our newest materials from concept to application testing, and ultimately to manufacturing, rapidly and with a nearly seamless transition.”
Kokko continues, “In the applications lab, we can quickly process customer wafers or develop new processes for their materials on site, ensuring that our customers can easily-and confidently-integrate Silecs’ products on their high-volume production lines.”
The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art customized equipment and software. Full traceability is maintained on incoming raw materials and the use of statistical process control (SPC) monitors the lot-to-lot consistency. Once quality assurance personnel have approved those materials, they are loaded into processing reactors, which are computer-controlled for precise, repeatable control of heating and other critical parameters. Again, SPC is used to monitor the outgoing quality and consistency of every lot of material the company processes, ensuring consistently pure, highly uniform product, ready for production of the most advanced device designs.