03/01/1999  Willson VistaMax 2000 series goggles with polycarbonate lenses feature a high-flow fog prevention system and a deep, curved PVC frame that enables users to wear the goggles over prescription glasses and with disposable masks. According to the manufacturer, non-mist performance prevents fogging and misting up to three times better than conventional non-mist goggles.

03/01/1999  NEW YORK -- Even in semiconductor manufacturing, the saying still holds true: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Semiconductor processing is complex, cycling through hundreds of individual steps to create an integrated circuit. The interaction between these steps can impact contamination control.

07/01/1998  The VaporSorb CDA filter purifies the clean dry air used in semiconductor lithography processes. According to the manufacturer, it combines adsorption, chemisorption and catalytic destruction to remove airborne molecular contaminants, including acids, bases, dopants, condensable silicones and hydrocarbons; it also captures particulates down to 0.1 micron. The CDA filter is available with a flow rate of 3 or 30 lpm and can be equipped with an optional drying module.

07/01/1998  DuPont Photomasks (DPI) has chosen a site for a photomask production facility in Singapore. Expected to be operational in 1999, the facility will produce advanced photomasks for use with I-line and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography steppers, enabling production of semiconductor devices with sub-0.35 micron feature sizes. The facility represents DPI`s fourth such facility in the Asia-Pacific region, an area where the company plans to invest $50 million over the next five years. -- SES

05/01/1998  These acrylic dispensers are used for distributing critical cleanroom items like booties, face masks, gloves and bouffant hats. Also available from the manufacturer are chemical transport carts for cleanrooms and polypropylene acid corrosive chemical storage cabinets.

03/01/1998  Traditional change room designs do not control contamination but merely dilute the concentration levels in the area.

12/01/1997  A cleanroom-compatible excimer laser from Lambda Physik, Inc. -- The NovaLine 100 -- will be showcased at MD&M. The high-power excimer laser, used in applications including high-speed PCB via drilling, wire stripping and component marking, delivers 100 W of stabilized output power, 400 mJ of pulse energy, and a 250 Hz repetition rate at 248 nm. It takes up a minimum amount of floor space. The company will also showcase its NovaLine LITHO -- an economic excimer laser for 248-nm lithography. The l

10/01/1997  TECNOL Medical Products, Inc. has received permission from the FDA to market its PFR95 Particulate Filter Respirator and Surgical Mask with FluidShield Protection as a medical device. The clearance means that the PFR95 meets the Center for Disease Control guidelines for tuberculosis exposure control. Previously marketed as an N95 respirator approved by NIOSH, the FDA clearance expands the range of health care applications for which the PFR95 is appropriate and its total available market, says a

08/01/1997  As I write this column, the U.S. Air Force just released its statement about the 1947 alleged Roswell Incident. Much to my dismay, the Air Force didn`t really find EBEs -- extraterrestrial biological entities -- nope, it was a hot air balloon and a few car-crash-type dummies falling from the sky. If that doesn`t sound a bit far fetched, how about this?

06/01/1997  Silicon Valley Group`s lithography subsidiary is collaborating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration`s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center, Sematech and Tinsley Laboratories as part of a new program that will leverage government and semiconductor industry resources to advance reflective optics manufacturing for the semiconductor industry. The parties involved in the effort, which operates as the High Precision Optics Joint Sponsored Research Agreement, plan to develop the most ad

06/01/1997  Silicon Valley Group (San Jose, CA) is up and running at its new manufacturing facility in Ridgefield, CT. The facility, which includes 6,000 sq. ft. of Class 1,000 cleanroom space, will boost capacity of Silicon Valley Group`s production of its Microscan series of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems. The facility will enable the company to increase its manufacturing capacity to five times the volume it produced in 1996. -- KS

05/01/1997  TECNOL Medical Products, Inc., a manufacturer of disposable medical products, has completed a five-year, sole source agreement to provide disposable face masks to Premier, an alliance of hospitals and health systems. The agreement has the potential to reach approximately $130 million in total sales over five years, of which $60 million would be incremental new business. TECNOL, which had approximately $14 million in mask sales to Premier in 1996, expects sales of at least $18 million in the firs

05/01/1997  After reading the article on "Genetically engineered rubber newest glove material," (CleanRooms, Nov. 1996, p. 1) we felt it necessary to bring to your attention one of our newly acquired subsidiary companies, which has been producing Guayule rubber since the mid-1940s. During World War II, Mexico exported Guayule rubber to the United States to manufacture gas masks to be used for military purposes.

04/01/1997  Schuller Corp. (Denver, CO) has purchased the assets of Ergon Nonwovens Inc. (Jackson, MS), a manufacturer of melt-blown roll goods used in air and liquid filtration applications, polypropylene sorbents, surgical face masks and single-use respirators. The acquisition makes Schuller one of the largest non-composite melt-blown roll goods producers. Schuller subsidiary Schuller International b.v. has purchased the assets of Ergon`s European subsidiary, Ergon Environmental Fabrics b.v. Terms of the

02/01/1997  Murray Hill, NJ -- Integrated Solutions Inc. (ISI) and Lucent Technologies will develop and sell manufacturing systems to make submicron ICs based on Lucent`s Scalpel electron-beam technology. The Scalpel technology will be licensed to ISI which will develop, market and manufacture support systems that permit semiconductor companies to make ICs with design features at widths as small as one-tenth micron or less. Current manufacturing design rules are at 0.35 microns, and 0.25-micron design rules

01/01/1997  Booties, hoods and face masks are basic items for any contamination-controlled area. Here?s a sampling of different types of productsfor your needs.

01/01/1997  Without a steady supply of gloves, masks, wipers and other consumables, the cleanroom as we know it would not exist. Consumables are vital to operating and maintaining a cleanroom, and in some industries, they have an even greater impact on the product being manufactured.

01/01/1997  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA--NASA is proposing to coat quartz-crystal microbalances (QCM) with a zeolite to increase the QCM`s sensitivity as a contamination monitor.

01/01/1997  Round Rock, TX--DuPont Photomasks, Inc. (DPI) has announced a technology venture with three key semiconductor manufacturers: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Micron Technology, Inc., and Motorola, Inc. The purpose of the venture is advanced photomask technology development and pilot line fabrication of leading-edge photomasks, the high purity quartz plates with precision images of ICs used as masters to optically transfer circuit images onto wafers. The venture, a limited liability company called

11/01/1996  As I read Associate Editor Susan English`s article "Cost, Comfort and Contamination Control Drive Cleanroom Garment Trends" ( Sept. 1996, p. 39), I could not help but marvel at the progress that has been made since I first became involved in that segment of the apparel (uniform) market more than 35 years ago.