Issue

Entegris (Chaska, MN) will supply several hundred of its 25-capacity front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) to Semiconductor 300 (Dresden, Germany), a joint venture between Infineon and Motorola.

INDIANAPOLIS - FOR Eli LILLY, a successful business translates to more than just a bottom line; the pharmaceutical giant is also in the business of saving lives. Recently the company that invented Insulin announced its long-term growth plan. Indiana residents will have 7,500 new job opportunities to chose from over the next decade. The expansion of Lilly's Indiana operations will be fueled by a $1 billion investment. However, don't weep for Lilly's sacrifice: the company will receive

WASHINGTON, DC - THE FOOD AND Drug Administration (FDA) has received a petition asking it to expand food irradiation regulations to include ready-to-eat packaged food. The petition is signed by a large group of food industry companies and organizations who believe "this expansion of regulations is necessary because of the recent recalls of foods due to E. co* and Listeria contamination," says Dr. Jeffrey Barach, the National Food Processors Association's (Washington, DC) vice president of sp

SISTERS, OR - CONSUMERS' fear of poor-quality healthcare is driving Congress into the debate surrounding the safety of resanitizing and reusing medical devices classified as disposables. Unfortunately, the companies who specialize in such decontamination have found themselves caught between these two groups and are seeing themselves demonized on one side and made scapegoats on the other.

NORWOOD, MA - THERE was a time when the very mention of the words "cleanroom fire-safety testing requirements" was enough to spark a debate over the merits of the FM4910 protocol from Factory Mutual Research (Norwood, MA) versus standards developed by Underwriters Laboratories (Northbrook, IL).

HOUSTON - PHARMACISTS AND nur ses using Class II biological safety cabinets (BSCs) to prepare chemotherapy drugs are potentially at risk for cancer and adverse reproductive effects because of contamination problems related to the BSCs. According to a report published in the July issue of American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, exposure to antineoplastic agents, chemotherapy drugs that are also called cytotoxics, is "commonplace" despite precautions.

BRAINTREE, MA - THE NUMEROUS partnerships recently announced among semiconductor and other vendors could in some cases be the first step toward a merger or acquisition.

What do we do when a cornerstone of our contamination control arsenal is identified as 'not meeting expectations?' In July 1999, the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (1) published an article reporting surface contamination while using Class II biological safety cabinets during the preparation of antineoplastic agents.

I continue to be mystified by the universal, resounding success of minienvironments in reducing wafer contamination. Everyone who has examined and reported the impact of minienvironments on product contamination agrees that wafer contamination is reduced and reduced significantly when compared to similar processing operations carried out in the traditional ballroom type of cleanroom [Refs 1 -3].

Training is a big subject that gets minimum attention. We all know it is a necessity, but quite often it is treated as a necessary evil.

This invention aims at maintaining gas purity by using two cleanrooms. One cleanroom is used to store the gas supply pipe that extends from a storage tank. The other cleanroom houses gas containers that are fed by gas filling pipes. When the gas-filling pipes are not in use, ultra-high purity nitrogen gas flows, maintaining an extremely clean state inside of the pipes.
Patent number: 5,937,918
Date granted: August 17, 1999
Inventors: Mitauhide Takeharada and Shigeyoshi Nozawa, Teisan

A variety of technologies now exists to measure particle levels reliably in gas distribution systems with different optimal technologies for each combination of inert/reactive gas and bulk/cylinder distribution system. The proper selection of measurement hardware and sampling procedures allows for detection of particles as small as 0.003 micron.

A discussion of criteria for evaluation, potential problems, standards vs. reality, safety vs. functionality, and costs vs. value

Cleanroom air filtration still has work to do in such areas as reducing outgassing, implementing new materials and lowering operating costs.

The modular profile section kit can be used in various cleanrooms, from microelectronic to optical components to semiconductor manufacturing environments. Applications range from a lightweight housing to a baseframe for heavy-duty machines. More than 70 profile sections, ranging from 11 x 20 mm to 90 x 360 mm, 20 high-strength joining principles and accessories are also available. According to Bosch, components are fully standardized, easily assembled and can be reused. Structural modifications