Compiled by Carrie Meadows

Electrostatic voltage sensor

The new TREK Model 875 electrostatic voltage sensor is designed for in-line monitoring of electrostatic charge build-up, which if left unchecked disrupts manufacturing processes and/or causes product degradation and early life failure of semiconductors and other charge-sensitive components. Manufacturers of electrostatic-sensitive devices can monitor production lines and other manufacturing processes in real time, enabling process adjustments. Model 875 features a measurement probe with automatic calibration technology, which maintains accuracy and speed even as the distance between the non-contacting probe and the monitored surface changes, unlike measurement technologies that require fixed-probe-to-surface spacing. Designed with DIN packaging, the sensor’s enclosure mounts on a 35-mm DIN rail. Other features include a voltage measurement range of

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By George Miller

Two German companies are cooperating to manufacture and market technology used to inactivate viruses in biopharmaceutical products.

The collaboration, which has a proprietary ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation technique at its core, adds a third virus-inactivation method to the Sartorius Stedim Biotech GmbH (Goettingen) portfolio.

The technique, called UVivatec technology by developer Bayer Technology Services GmbH (BTS; Leverkusen), inactivates such small, non-enveloped viruses as parvoviruses, a version of which causes fifth disease.

“The challenge with small envelope viruses is that they do not die unless you go to pH 1 or so,” says Suma Ray, PhD, process development scientist for viral clearance and cell line development in the global purification technologies group at Sartorius Stedim Biotech. “That’s why we need another method: UVC irradiation.”

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By Roberta Burrows, IEST

A new nanotechnology Working Group (WG), formed in September by ISO Technical Committee 209 (ISO/TC 209) Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments, will begin work in 2009 on developing standards for the nanoscale. This pioneering WG is convened by the United States under the auspices of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST), with IEST experts Anne Marie Dixon, Cleanroom Management Associates, Inc., and David Ensor, Research Triangle Institute Center for Aerosol Technology, as co-convenors.

The preliminary scope for WG 10: Nanotechnology would specify the minimum requirements for design, operations, monitoring, and testing of nanotechnology facilities as they differ from those described in ISO 14644-4 (Design, construction and start-up) and 14644-5 (Operations). The WG is authorized to write a series of standards, if needed. Groups of drafting experts will be assigned to specific documents or sections of documents.

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By Hank Hogan

A focus on environmental responsibility and energy efficiency at this year’s semiconductor manufacturing week, hosted in late October by the Sematech subsidiary ISMI (Austin, TX), could have far-reaching consequences, as the demand for greenness percolates through the supply chain.

The transition to a greener mode of operation may benefit from another topic discussed at the meeting. “We see the transition to 450-mm wafers as a real opportunity for a shift to more eco-friendly manufacturing,” said Tom Jefferson, ISMI 450-mm program manager.

He added that ISMI is working with equipment suppliers, with the goal of having pilot-line 450-mm tools available in 2012. A number of companies are involved in factory integration efforts, with the scope of the testbed having doubled since July.

The processing of these larger wafers is supposed to be done without an increase in the unit energy consumption. That goal mandates a 55 percent reduction from the 300-mm baseline.

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As reported by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Pioneer Press, Entegris, Inc., a supplier to the semiconductor and electronics industry, has announced it will close the larger of its two manufacturing plants in Chaska, MN, cutting 200 jobs, as the company shifts work closer to its Asian customers.

The closure of the plant will affect about 7 percent of Entegris’s worldwide workforce of 2,900 employees, and more than a quarter of the company’s 750 employees in Chaska, where its headquarters are located.

The layoffs will not take place until well into the first quarter of 2009 and will result in annual savings of $6 million to $8 million starting in 2010, company officials said. In the meantime, though, Entegris will incur charges of about $15 million related to the plant closure over the next four quarters.

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Cleanroom operators in life sciences and microelectronics both require compliance to ISO standards for air cleanliness and instrument performance, finding continuous monitoring systems advantageous in the battle against airborne contaminants.

By Bruce Flickinger

Airborne particulate contamination is a quality issue in both the life science and electronics sectors, but there is one overarching difference between their respective needs: Relatively speaking, those in bio/pharma are looking for “rocks in the air,” in the words of one observer.

These “rocks” are particles that could potentially be or transport microbial contaminants, falling into the 0.5

What the heck are they teaching at the university business schools these days? Apparently, based on the brain trusts now running most of the world’s banks and corporations, it’s a curriculum pretty lean on economics and sound business practices and with a heavy emphasis on political science. I guess that only makes sense these days, though, since politicians are now pretty much calling the shots in our “free-enterprise system” anyway.

One thing I do know, however, is that whatever nonsense is being spun in the lecture halls, one simple truth will remain intact: Things have value, and some things have more value than others. A Japanese or German car, for example, has more value than an American car. That’s got nothing to do with nationalism or marketing, it’s just a fact, based on years of personal experience and comparison by consumers. And it’s a fact based on the conscious decision of American car executives to sacrifice quality and company reputations for a quick buck. Anyone remember the Vega, the Pinto, the K-car? Probably not too many. You’d have to have been around a while, because they didn’t stay on the road long.

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Many months ago, when we first started talking about the concept and prospect of hosting a “virtual” conference and exhibition, I have to admit I was a little skeptical about how realistic a possibility it actually was. I certainly don’t consider myself a novice to the power of the Internet (I still have my lifetime charter membership to AOL, after all), but I’m also pretty aware of the annoying shortcomings that can pop up and the potential pitfalls that remain, particularly with live events, virtual or not.

Now, however, I’m happy to tell you it’s the real deal. The totally virtual “CleanRooms Worldwide eVent” was–by every account I’ve heard so far, anyway–a great success. Held on October 21 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central time, the show brought together visitors from a host of industries and from countries all over the world. It would simply not be possible to accomplish this feat in any other way with a single-day, single-location, real-world event.

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