Tag Archives: Clean Rooms

By Hank Hogan

Despite the high technology, the semiconductor industry is conservative, preferring to stick to what is known and works rather than trying something new-unless, of course, there’s no alternative. That’s the case, the thinking goes, with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. EUV uses 13.5 nm wavelength photons in the place of today’s state-of-the-art 193 nm, which can only print 65 nm features using a slew of optical tricks.

“It makes lithography simple again,” says Vivek Bakshi, a senior member of the technical staff at SEMATECH (Austin, TX) in speaking about EUV. “That’s why with all the delays and all the technical challenges and all the differences, we’re still sticking with EUV.”

Lately, there’s been some encouraging news when it comes to EUV processing and contamination. One involves the mask blanks on which circuit layers are written. A second involves the EUV light source, which allows scanners to print circuits on wafers using masks.

The mask blank success comes in the detecting and cleaning of particles measuring only 10 nm, an achievement of SEMATECH’s Mask Blank Development Center (Albany, NY). That size is important since it’s about half the critical features in the 22 nm technology generation, at which EUV is likely to be used.

An EUV mask is painstakingly constructed by depositing multiple layers on a blank. A particle sitting on the blank will distort any pattern written into the layers above it and thereby render the mask useless. So it’s vital that the blank be clean.

The problem is that 10 nm is very small and that makes it difficult to take the first step in contamination control, notes Abbas Rastegar, also a senior member of the technical staff at SEMATECH. “First, you should see the defect,” he says.

To do this, Rastegar and others used a defect inspection tool from Lasertec Corp. of Yokohama, Japan. The inspection tool is based on reflectivity of 266 nm light and is specified to find 95 percent of all particles 30 nm and larger in size-far bigger than the 10 nm particles being sought. To get around this limitation, the group marked likely defects and then confirmed their size using an atomic force microscope. They then cleaned the mask blank using a cleaning tool from HamaTech AG of Sternenfels, Germany. After cleaning, they again scanned the blank, verifying that the defects were removed without harm to the blank.

This operation would be easier using a light source with a smaller wavelength, such as 13.5 nm. The second EUV-related advance may help with that. Recent announcements have shown that improvements in performance have lasers in the running to create the plasmas that, in turn, produce the EUV photons. Laser-based systems might show up in EUV scanners or EUV-based metrology or inspection tools.

One of the advantages of the laser-based approach is that optics can stand off at a greater distance, allowing these expensive components to be better protected against the heat, debris, and associated contaminants from the plasma. As Bakshi explains, “We have more distance and we can put in more debris mitigation devices.”

He adds that lasers still must be improved before they can be used. However, he says, real progress in this regard has recently been made, with lasers now approaching the power levels needed to make them competitive as a plasma producing source. It may be necessary to gang several lasers together to finally achieve the required performance.

Biopharm manufacturers can see improvements in contamination levels, manufacturing costs, and production times

By Gary MacEachern, NP Medical

It’s no secret that biopharmaceutical companies are moving rapidly toward disposable products for the production of protein therapeutics and vaccines. In university and pharm/biopharm laboratories, disposables have been in use for more than 20 years because of their small scale, versatility, and lack of contamination issues. As the commercial demand for designer drugs has increased, drug manufacturers have increased their use of disposables in parallel. And for good reason: Biopharmaceutical companies are adopting a “fail early, fail often” business model, and therefore need faster, cheaper discovery processes and clinical trials. This compels researchers to not only drive out as much cost as possible early on but also to speed up the process so less time is needed in cleaning and validating expensive bioreactors before bringing them back on-line for the next project. Today, the use of disposables has become commonplace in 97% of biopharmaceutical companies.


Figure 1. Disposable fluid management components, like these unidirectional Luer valves, can reduce the cost of both disposable and stainless-steel bioreactors. Photo courtesy of NP Medical.
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When considering the design and construction of manufacturing facilities, biopharmaceutical manufacturers-and especially start-ups-need to consider several criteria.

Safety. Cross-contamination is a major issue. There is not only the possibility of chemical contamination from the water-based cleaning solutions in reusable systems but also that of biological/microbial contamination from fluid pathways and liquid transfers. Yeast, bacteria, mold, and viruses are all either used in producing drugs or can be considered biological contaminants. Disposable, sterile, pre-filled media bags and pre-sterilized fluid path components such as tubing, filters, connectors, and valves all offer significant safety advantages, save time and money, and increase efficiency.

Versatility. Most biopharm manufacturers can’t afford to be “one-trick ponies.” With fewer blockbuster drugs on the horizon, smaller markets, and target-specific treatments, product diversification requires a flexible research and manufacturing infrastructure that enables them to quickly change product development gears.

Cost. When looking at the impact of disposables on cost, the savings with regards to sterilization alone are significant as disposable systems eliminate clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) sterilizing between batches and changeovers. Validation issues are also eliminated because all components are supplied sterile and certified. Cross-contamination is minimized, if not eliminated, by the use of unidirectional disposable valves and single-use filters.

Changeover procedures can often be reduced to essentially “stop and swap,” a significant reduction in time that enables disposable bioreactors to be up and running in hours-sometimes even minutes-compared to the weeks necessary to make stainless-steel reactors ready after a changeover. Validated cleaning, replacement of product-contact fluid path components, and sterility retesting that follows is time-consuming and expensive. Disposable component manufacturers now offer a wide range of unidirectional valves to help control flow and prevent backflow during fluid transfer and sampling.

Small vs. large scale processes

Currently, disposable bioreactors are best suited for small-scale R&D and manufacturing, in the range of several hundred liters. While large-scale disposable manufacturing is not yet feasible (production is still limited to about 2,000 L), scalable smaller-volume manufacturing is. In fact, it may be hard to push the size of disposable systems into the realm of large-scale manufacturing due to the inherent structural weaknesses associated with large plastic bags. However, with growing demand, new technologies for better yields and improved drug delivery, increased cost pressures, and a trend toward “boutique” therapeutics and personalized treatments, manufacturers have been driven to produce smaller batches while improving yields for higher volumetric productivity.

Biopharm manufacturers must improve production flexibility to meet periodic capacity shortages and produce smaller, higher yield batches, while dealing with reduced R&D budgets and health care reform constraints. This points to disposable bioreactors as an ideal solution. In some cases where manufacturing volumes are in the hundreds to low thousands of liters, manufacturers can simply run several, say, 200 L bioreactors in parallel, giving them the advantage of both the volume they need and the flexible scalability to increase or decrease production based on the products being run and the market needs at the time of manufacture.

What about retrofitting stainless-steel bioreactors?

With all the discussion about disposable systems, you’d think the death knell had been sounded for all those big stainless-steel systems, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of stainless reactors’ demise “have been greatly exaggerated.”

Rather, large, established manufacturers are beginning to use disposables to provide added flexibility and efficiencies to their existing stainless-steel facilities. By incorporating disposable components, particularly in the fluid path systems, they are able to reduce cleaning costs as well as turnaround time.

Disposables are also being used to cut lead time when performing product changeovers. With fixed stainless-steel systems, a changeover between drug runs usually requires piping redesigns and modifications that can take six to twelve months to complete. By using disposable fluid path systems to replace SIP stainless-steel connections, bioreactor lines can be reconfigured quickly, often cutting the project completion time by several months. Plastic tubing can be quickly and easily custom cut to fit a system and the process of cutting with a hot blade anneals the plastic to create a sterile seal. Retrofitting stainless-steel systems with pre-sterilized disposable pathways enables secure connections to be made in Class B, C, or even D environments while maintaining sterility-that means saving time and money even with expensive, reusable stainless steel systems by being able to operate them in less-than-optimal sterile environments.

Operating expenses

When discussing operating expenses, the conversation quickly turns to comparing the two types of systems in terms of the cost of consumables. Here the comparison between the two can get a bit murky because comparing consumables can be like comparing apples to oranges.

Stainless-steel systems actually use more consumables than most people realize-the cleaning chemicals and thousands of gallons of purified water needed for the cleaning process, along with their disposal expense, as well as utility costs associated with steaming and cleaning. In addition, there’s the cost of all the fluid contact components between drug runs-tubing, gaskets, valves, O-rings, filters, and connectors that are too hard to clean and revalidate. It’s less expensive to simply replace them. In fact, despite the conventional wisdom that a reusable stainless-steel bioreactor system has less environmental impact than a system that uses a lot of disposable plastics, studies show that the impact of increased plastic consumption associated with disposable systems is typically offset by the amount of reusable system cleaning water and chemicals and the utility service consumption required to process them.

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Approximately one-third of the labor cost for reusable systems is associated with cleaning and sterilization. By using disposables, critical, skilled-employee tasks such as testing and documenting validation associated with sterilization are eliminated, reducing the cost of labor. In addition, using disposable bioreactors, without all the CIP/SIP piping and components, decreases the complexity of the overall system, which may reduce the labor time involved in system construction and/or set-up.

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Time can also be considered a consumable and the use of disposables not only reduces the overall maintenance and operating time, it also enables biopharmas to simplify standard operating procedures (SOPs) and use less skilled labor for certain tasks. Pre-sterilized components, unidirectional disposable valves, and diaphragm pumps with in-line filters, in conjunction with simplified SOPs, enable workers to perform the work and avoid mistakes and contamination while transferring fluids and taking samples. Increased regulatory compliance requirements (and, in some cases, internal company policies) have increased the need and frequency of sampling. A variety of available disposable valves, such as pressure activated, Luer, and in-line check valves, would help facilitate a wide range of sampling-from single samples to multiple, extended-duration process sampling. The bottom line is an increase in the speed and efficiency of sample-taking and a reduction in labor costs and risk.

Making the case for disposables

While a case can be made that the cost-of-operation difference between disposable and reusable systems is not as great as often stated-upfront construction expense, consumables, and high cleaning and sterilization costs can offset some of the expense of disposable systems-the fact remains that disposables still have a higher cost-per-batch. Currently, a complete, small-batch disposable bioreactor costs about $200 to $300 per unit, including bags, tubing, connectors, valves, and mixing system. However, if time-to-market is crucial for successful production introduction, disposable systems are the clear winner when it comes to batch-to-batch speed and versatility. As we’ve seen, reusable systems, with lengthy sterilization, testing, and validation processes, clearly fall behind in the speed department. This can be mitigated to some degree by incorporating disposable fluid pathway components such as tubing, connectors, filters, and valves into the stainless-steel system. Only in this way can biopharmas reduce maintenance and operation time and speed up batch changeovers.

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But even assuming that it costs more to run disposable bioreactors vs. stainless steel, the economic stakes in drug development are so high, the cost difference becomes negligible. Put another way, if the potential is there for making dollars on an R&D investment that (relatively speaking) costs pennies, what’s a few cents more in the cost of operation between a stainless-steel system and a disposable one? Improved speed, efficiency, flexibility, and time-to-market more than outweigh a few pennies.

Gary MacEachern is director of marketing/new product development at NP Medical (www.npmedical.com). He can be reached at [email protected].

New high-speed doors minimize potential contamination and maximize production efficiency

By Matjaz Sentjurc and Vladimir “Benny” Bernard, Efafl ex-CZ s.r.o.

Beginning about 35 years ago, manufacturers began to recognize that to achieve greater productivity, they would need faster, more efficient internal factory transportation and logistics systems. The result was the development of all kinds of new, fast forklifts, cranes, conveyors, and other means of transport. But there remained a weak point—facility doors. Even when operated automatically, access doors were slow to open, and transport vehicles were held up waiting for them, wasting valuable time.

In addition, the slow-operating doors also had a negative impact on the factory environment, particularly for doors opening to the outside. In winter, conditions could not only become very unpleasant for workers, but also cause potential damage to manufacturing materials from continuous temperature and humidity change.


Figure 1. The “SRT-CR” high-speed, roll-up door for tight cleanroom closures features closed guidance of the curtain to minimize air loss; no screws or overhangs for particle adhesion; emergency release via electric button instead of pull-cord or crank handle; anti-static curtain; and integrated control within the frame to save space. Photos courtesy of Efafl ex-CZ s.r.o.
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To solve these problems designers developed a new type of fast-opening industrial door—doors that opened and closed so fast that their operation was transparent to transport operations. Similar principles are now being applied to cleanroom doors and pass-throughs with the goal to both minimize potential opportunities for contamination as well as maximize production efficiency.

From high-speed industrial to cleanroom doors

In general operation, cleanrooms are just like other industrial rooms, but with special demands for contamination controlled production—whether pharmaceutical, electronic, fine mechanical, or other products. As such, the requirements driving door and pass-through design are also similar.

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For example, in many highly automated semiconductor fabs, where the processing and transfer of materials is completely automatic, including the use of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), fast-moving cleanroom doors can significantly reduce the time of processing and transfer of materials and even increase the cleanliness class of the room.

Not all the principles guiding the design and implementation of fast-opening industrial doors apply to cleanroom doors, but there are many common requirements. For example, one of the challenges that needed to be addressed in the development of the high-speed industrial door—the sheer size of the door leaf being operated—must also be addressed for cleanroom doors.

The door must be able to handle both the rapid acceleration of a large-mass door leaf as well as the very rapid deceleration needed to stop it at both full open and close. This requires large and highly stable drive units and components, but by meeting this operational requirement, designers have also achieved significant durability improvements and increased the average life expectancy of the doors. Today, fast-opening industrial doors have top speeds of more than 4 meters per second and a life expectancy of up to 1 million operations.

Safety is another common consideration for door designers as both personnel and equipment must be protected from possible collision with the fast-moving door leaf. Hence, several safety systems have been adopted such as contact edge, light barrier, light wall, light grid, etc.

Sophisticated control units have also been developed using sensors and computer systems to send, receive, and process impulses from different opening devices (activators), other doors, conveyor systems, and other control units. In the event of power failure or other emergency, backup mechanical counterbalance systems have also been developed to ensure doors can be opened without an external power source.

Special requirements

There are also special demands for high-speed doors intended for cleanroom applications. For example, in cleanrooms, multiple doors are usually arranged and installed in an airlock configuration with control units programmed to ensure that one or more doors remains closed at all times. These airlocks can be relatively large with standard doors for transport of large equipment and personnel or small access ports or cabins for passing materials and product.

The basic cleanliness requirements and criteria for designing and manufacturing high-speed doors for cleanroom applications include the following:

Air tightness. Each cleanroom or clean area is continuously refreshed with clean air, so the room maintains either a constant positive or negative pressure. The amount of air to be delivered into the cleanroom depends on the tightness of the entire room. High-speed industrial doors are therefore of great importance, since they are the only element in the cleanroom (sometimes in addition to a personnel pass-through) that is not permanently fixed.


Figure 2. In the STT-CR model, single-walled, transparent lathes, which are kept at a distance when rolled up in the patented spiral-door blade, remain transparent and free of wear and tear for years. Photo courtesy of Efafl ex-CZ s.r.o.
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Even if it is accepted that the cleanroom door is not completely tight, it is important to know how large the leakage factor is. Sometimes, a small, controlled air leakage can be welcome, but this should be known in order to most efficiently design the HVAC system and ensure that the room’s required pressure differential is maintained.

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Particle sources. A high-speed door—including its frame, drive unit, and the door leaf itself, which regularly opens and closes—must be designed so it will not produce any particles. The door’s components must therefore also be constructed from suitable materials.

Surfaces. Horizontal surfaces should be avoided in the design of the doors components, as these can provide places where particles can accumulate. All sources of potential electrostatic charge must also be eliminated.

Cleaning. The surfaces of door components should be at and very smooth, without any corners or crevices. This helps ensure regular effective cleaning of the door. Manual activators, if used, are also specially designed to meet this requirement. All metal parts are made of stainless steel. Frames can also be constructed of powdered galvanized steel and door leaves from eloxed aluminium, acrylic glass in aluminum frames, or laminate, depending on the door type.

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Because not all cleanrooms are the same, there are also different types of fast-moving cleanroom doors for different applications. Table 1 on page 35 lists some common important considerations.

International manufacturing and safety standards

To ensure commonality in product manufacturing and safety standards an important consideration especially in the European market, where every country has its own laws, standards, and demands the guidelines and standards in Table 2 have been applied to the design, production, and installation of fast-opening industrial doors.

Finally, anyone operating a cleanroom should certainly be familiar with U.S. Federal Standard 209 cleanroom classification criteria and standards and the follow-on ISO 14644-1 document, which combines the best features of the different base documents available from Europe, Japan, and the U.S.

Matjaz Sentjurc is project manager and Vladimir “Benny” Bernard is sales manager at Efafl ex-CZ s.r.o., a German-based manufacturer of high-speed spiral, roll-up, and folding doors for indoor applications and inlet/outlet bays in various facilities. Bernard can be reached at benny.bernard@efafl ex.cz.

Garments


August 1, 2007

Since human-generated contamination plays a large role in critical environments, special care must be taken to provide appropriate garments to minimize the human impact on the cleanroom. Other important factors include specialty fabrics to safeguard technicians, as well as proper laundering and care of reusable attire.

Compiled by Carrie Meadows

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Personal protective apparel
Ansell has long been recognized for innovation and leadership in the personal protective clothing industry. Best known for its protective gloves, the company also provides heavy-duty coat aprons and both medium and lightweight disposable aprons in a variety of lengths and closure options. In addition, while bouffants and beard and shoe covers may be commonly overlooked accessory products, they are indispensable in any cleanroom environment. Ansell has these protective items in a variety of colors and styles. For more information about Ansell’s Critical Environment products, visit the web site or contact Customer Service at (800) 800-0444.

Ansell Healthcare Products LLC
Red Bank, NJ
www.ansellpro.com

Cleanroom garment services

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ARAMARK Cleanroom Services, Inc., a division of ARAMARK Uniform Services, Inc., is a provider of cleanroom garment services to technically demanding customers throughout North America. The company has developed exacting standards and tightly controlled systems and procedures, leading to all of the company’s processing plants obtaining ISO 9001:2000 certification. Each facility has a comprehensive documentation system, disaster recovery plan, a dedicated QA manager and staff, as well as a web-based garment management system. ARAMARK understands the critical importance of having the right garments and disposable products for cleanroom facilities. All of its products undergo rigorous evaluation and product testing. Industry experts are available to help you find the right products for your needs.

ARAMARK Cleanroom Services, Inc.
Burr Ridge, IL
www.aramark-cleanroom.com

Quantus® line of cleanroom garments

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basan, a full-service supplier of cleanroom consumables and equipment, offers a series of cleanroom garments, called Quantus®, that has been tested and confirmed by renowned textile institutes. The premium quality, high-integrity fabric complies with Ökö-Text Standard 100 and ensures wearing comfort. The garments are extremely durable due to quality workmanship, lapped seams, and the use of high-quality threads and special textile structures such as linen weave. In addition to that, they offer permanent antimicrobial properties and an ESD model for cleanroom class ISO 5 and higher. The long-term functionality of the garments has been confirmed by thorough testing.

basan
Kriftel, Germany
www.basan.com

Garments provided with recommended clothing standards

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Connecticut Clean Room Corporation provides quality cleanroom garments for many different industries including cleanroom, critical manufacturing, industrial, and any environment that requires sanitary standards. Choose from lab coats, coveralls, frocks, aprons, isolation gowns, bouffants, hoods, face masks, and covers. The company carries Tyvek™, DuPont Suprel™, KleenGuard*, Vidaro, Worklon, polypropylene, and SMS, and offers both disposable and reusable garments depending on your needs. The Customer Care Team provides information on Recommended Cleanroom Clothing Standards and will help you to select the right garment for your specific application. Modifications may be required according to individual processes and other factors affecting garment usage and frequency of change. All garments meet or exceed the stringent requirements needed in a critical environment ranging from Class 100,000 to Class 1.

Connecticut Clean Room Corporation
Bristol, CT
www.ctcleanroom.com

ISO 9001:2000 certified apparel supplier

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As an ISO 9001:2000 certified national supplier with an extensive network of regional distribution centers, Cintas offers a large selection of cleanroom apparel, including aprons, beard covers, boot covers, bouffant caps, shoes, coveralls, face masks and veils, frocks and lab coats, hoods, shoe covers, and sleeve covers. In addition, Cintas offers custom-managed inventory programs and launders garments in accordance with IEST-RP-CC003.3. All reusable products are durable, cleanroom compatible, and gamma compatible to 200 megarad gamma sterilization and 100 launder cycles. For more information, call 1-800-CINTAS1.

Cintas Cleanroom Services
Mason, OH
www.cintascleanroom.com

Garments for high demand environments

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Particle retention, anti-static properties, comfort, abrasion resistance, and air permeability are characteristics that significantly influence the efficiency of a cleanroom textile. Dastex, a leading European manufacturer for cleanroom garments, offers a wide range of products and services. Dastex has invested in a variety of test equipment to guarantee professional advisory service to its customers. In addition to a body box, the company has its own filter test facility for cleanroom textiles, supplemented by Helmke Drum (image shows pump effect on cleanroom garments); a modified ASTM suction method; and in future plans to incorporate a further measuring system to determine the contamination on textile surfaces.

Dastex Reinraumzubehör GmbH & Co. KG
Muggensturm, Germany
www.dastex.com

Composite fabric offers breathability and barrier protection

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DuPont provides a complete line of apparel designed to protect workers, products, and processes from harmful materials. Tyvek® Isoclean™, Suprel® LS and ProClean® garments-available in bulk, clean, or clean and sterile-and accessories create effective barriers against particles, micro-organisms, and non-hazardous liquids. Developed specifically for professionals in the life science, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, electronics, food processing, and medical device manufacturing industries, and based on DuPont’s proprietary Advanced Composite Technology, Suprel® LS is a patented bi-component fabric that offers breathability and barrier protection, possessing a softer feel and allowing for greater comfort than comparably priced offerings for this marketplace. The company also offers a range of cleanroom accessories including SureStep™ shoe and boot covers for exceptional skid resistance.

DuPont Contamination Control
Wilmington, DE
www.personalprotection.com

Liquid and particle protection lab coats

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KleenGuard* A40 Liquid & Particle Protection Lab Coats (right, in photo) from Kimberly-Clark Professional are made from a microporous film laminate fabric that offers superior particle holdout while allowing excellent breathability. They provide a variety of advantages of liquid and particle protection over lab coats made of Tyvek®: better liquid barrier, better particulate barrier, and lower linting. The KleenGuard* A40 Liquid & Particle Protection Lab Coats meet the ANSI/SEA 101-1996 sizing standard and pass NFPA 99 criteria for anti-stat materials. The lab coats feature a snap-front chest and hip pocket.

Kimberly-Clark Professional
Roswell, GA
www.kcprofessional.com

Cleanroom laundry processing

Since 1960, Prudential Cleanroom Services has provided cleanroom laundry processing services. Prudential’s network of ISO 9001:2000 certified, ISO Class 3 cleanliness rated cleanroom laundry processing facilities provide services throughout North America, and also include operations in Malaysia. Businesses of all types rent, lease, and buy employee uniforms from Prudential Overall Supply. The company also consults with its customers to develop uniform programs by providing expertise in the latest fabrics applicable for uniforms, and the fabrics’ performance under varying workplace conditions and physical job demands. Prudential offers cleanroom sterile garment and protective wear processing for companies that manufacture products and operate in controlled environments in industries such as bioscience, semiconductor, paint spray, and pharmaceuticals.

Prudential Cleanroom Services
Irvine, CA
www.pcs-clean.com

Distributor for apparel manufacturer

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Satesa Corporation represents the Medtecs Group in North, Central, and South America for cleanroom garments that are made to order to customers’ exact requirements. Medtecs weaves its own fabrics and produces garments in its own plants in Southeast Asia with headquarters in Taiwan. Medtecs manufactures coveralls, hoods, and booties with hard and soft soles. The company has been supplying the U.S. market since 1990. Moreover, it was the first to introduce just-in-time delivery to several plants in North America from its strategic warehouses. The company also can provide breathable membrane laminations in either monolithic polyurethane film or expanded Teflon® film. Temperature-regulated garments and special finishes are a hallmark of the Medtecs Group.

Satesa Corporation
Englewood, NJ
www.satesa.com

High-technology garments and accessories

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Transforming Technologies provides high-technology garments, cleanroom fabric, cleanroom boot soles, and specialized cleanwear accessories. Hypalon™ shoe covers, temperature-resistant Nomex™ gloves, and other performance wear are designed for controlled environments and other critical applications. Serving semiconductor, disk drive, pharmaceutical, and medical device manufacturers, Transforming Technologies works continuously to develop improved products for meeting the most demanding requirements. The company’s technology partners include Guardner Co. Ltd. (Japan/China), Asiatic Fiber Corporation (Taiwan), and Uni-stat Pte. Ltd. (Singapore). Recent product innovations include cleanroom soles in the 10e6 range and gamma compatible Hypalon™ shoe covers.

Transforming Technologies, LLC
Sylvania, OH
www.transforming-technologies.com

Jumpsuit designed for pharmaceutical needs

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Based on the needs of its customer partnerships and the industry’s ever evolving safety standards, Tronex has released a new fluid-resistant USP <797> suitable jumpsuit. Manufactured in the company’s state-of-the-art ISO 9001 Certified factories, these meticulously constructed and comfortable protective jumpsuits are made from a durable and breathable polypropylene spunbonded (PPSB) non-woven, fluid-resistant material. Available in two styles-open ankles and cuffs, and elastic ankles and cuffs-with four sizes (L to 3XL), this jumpsuit is crafted with precision stitching and colored in white and blue with pointed shirt collar and zipper front. Other choices include SMS and polyethylene coated for full fluid-impervious protection suitable for high-risk environments.

Tronex Pharmaceutical
Parsippany, NJ
www.tronex.com

Skid-resistant boot covers

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Value-Tek Ultra-Clean Boot Covers (item VTBTCVPPLVW) combine cleanliness and quality into a highly durable product that provides a less expensive alternative to Tyvek®. The non-skid bottom can be especially useful in places where additional traction is needed. The outer layer is coated with polyethylene, while the inside features a comfortable polypropylene lining. The sole is both durable and skid-resistant PVC, providing protection from slips or falls. The disposable boot cover-liquid impervious and autoclavable-is ideal for critical environments.

Value-Tek
Phoenix, AZ
www.cleanroomconsumables.com

July 20, 2007 — SANTA BARBARA, CA — Asylum Research, in conjunction with the University of Menster, CeNTech, and Atomic Force F&E, announces the Euro AFM Forum to be held at the University of Munster, Germany, Sept. 3-5. The Euro AFM Forum is a conference for AFM researchers to share the cutting-edge research being done specifically in the field of AFM/SPM. Conference registration is free and is open to anyone who is currently doing work in AFM or for those interested in learning more on the topic.

The first full day of the Forum will include invited talks and submitted posters on a variety of AFM topics from bio to semiconductors. The second day will be a hands-on workshop that will consist of equipment demonstrations and lectures on such topics as fluid imaging, electrical characterization and new AFM imaging modes. Researchers may submit their posters for the conference as well as their AFM images for an image contest. Three winners will be selected to receive an iPod Nano for their winning image.

“We are pleased to co-host this conference that will bring together many of the top AFM scientists that are doing such great research in this field,” says Tilman Schaffer, scientist in the BioForce Group at the CeNTech, University of Menster.

The event is co-sponsored by CeNTech, University of Menster, Atomic Force F&E and Asylum Research. Conference details and registration can be found on the official conference site at www.AsylumResearch.com/EuroForum.

About Asylum Research
Asylum Research manufactures advanced scientific instrumentation, including AFMs/ Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPMs), for nanoscale science and technology. An AFM/SPM is one of the premier instruments used for measuring surfaces and surface properties at the nanometer level. For additional information, please contact Terry Mehr, director of marketing, Asylum Research, 6310 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93117, 805-696-6466, [email protected], www.AsylumResearch.com.

About CeNTech and University of Munster
The CeNTech, located within the University of Munster, was created as one of Germany’s first centers for nanotechnology. Integrated into the densest network of universities in all over Europe, CeNTech provides the ideal environment to direct selected ideas and results of nanotechnological research into technical and commercial applications. It is located within the University of Munster in the German state of North Rhine-Westfalia (NRW) in the heart of Europe. For additional information, see their web sites at www.centech.de, and www.uni-muenster.de.

About Atomic Force F&E
Atomic Force F&E GmbH was founded in 1998 to distribute highly sophisticated surface investigation techniques and instruments. Atomic Force currently distributes a variety of metrology tools as well as AFM cantilevers from their two locations in

July 17, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Advantest Corporation, a leading supplier of semiconductor test equipment, is demonstrating its new, comprehensive hardware and software test cell solution for a range of complex consumer devices at SEMICON West, Booth 7347, July 17-19 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

Advantest is the only ATE company that has for decades designed and manufactured its own handlers and interfaces in addition to its test systems and software, and is uniquely qualified to tightly integrate and optimize the entire test cell. Advantest’s new SoC test cell solution is unique for its single-vendor tester-handler integration, bringing highly parallel, high- performance turn-key testing capabilities to SoC consumer device manufacturing. State-of-the-art handler technology presents an additional opportunity for lowering the cost of ownership (CoO) of the test cell.

Advantest’s new SoC test cell solution has a number of unique features that offer semiconductor designers, manufacturers and assembly-test companies high performance, high accuracy, and turn-key ease of use at low cost of test:

  • A complete test-cell solution that includes a high-throughput, high-performance handler as well as a test system and test software for high-volume manufacturing environments and streamlined customer set-up, operations and support.
  • Optimized handler-tester connectivity for superb uptime, reliability, and ease of use.
  • Parallel testing of 16 high-pincount consumer devices with throughput of up to 18,500 UPH for highest industry performance.
  • OPENSTAR(R)-compliant open test system architecture and the latest pick-and-place handler technology providing flexibility and scalability that leverage customers’ ATE investment while meeting the challenges of testing complex, increasingly sophisticated IC technology.
  • An extremely compact ATE footprint, resulting in real estate and operating savings.
  • A variety of state-of-the-art, feature-rich applications for high-speed digital and analog devices used in the latest consumer products.
  • Modular design for easy, rapid accommodation of a variety of applications.

At Semicon, Advantest is demonstrating its new T2000 LS mainframe (T2000LSMF) linked to its new M4841 Dynamic Test Handler, running together with two new applications modules, an 800MDM and a 32-channel PMU.

This powerful test cell — the T2000 LS mainframe coupled with the M4841 Handler — will be demonstrating a 16-site analog and digital test of an MCU with an embedded DAC, using Advantest’s newest applications modules. The test-cell demonstration shows the testing of a microcontroller complete with a broad spectrum of digital and analog tests. Of special note is the very high multi-site testing efficiency achieved by the highly parallel, single-vendor testing environment.

The 800MDM combines low cost with high-speed operation and very high channel densities. With 128 channels per module (up to 6000 channels per system) the 800MDM module supports a level of parallel testing which is new to the SOC industry. In addition to its high density and speed, the 800MDM provides special hardware features focused on speedy testing of source- synchronous interfaces. It features SCAN test, memory test and multiple time domains.

The PMU32 provides the analog complement to the 800MDM, offering high channel density and high performance on a single test system module. In addition to traditional DC measurements, this module provides a low cost solution for ADC/DAC testing and other analog functions commonly found on consumer handheld products. It also offers fine low-level resolution of down to 25 uV as well as wide voltage range of up to +40V.

OPENSTAR(R) compliant and designed for compactness and modularity, Advantest’s T2000 LS mainframe is a low-cost test system for today’s high- functionality SoC consumer devices. Demand is ongoing and growing for analog, digital and mixed signal devices that provide features and mobile communications for increasingly sophisticated consumer electronics as well as automotive, medical, transportation and other infrastructure applications. These highly sophisticated, densely designed integrated circuits (ICs) and the fast-paced, price-sensitive markets they are targeted to require test solutions that meet their technical challenges as well as their cost challenges. Advantest designed the T2000 LSMF and its entire test cell solution to meet these needs.

The test head of the LS mainframe is designed to accommodate different modules for the varied applications needed to test complex SoCs. Offering high-speed analog and digital test capability to perform highly parallel testing of complex SOC devices, Advantest’s new solution delivers significant cost reduction and a smaller footprint, together with greater performance and versatility.

Advantest’s M4841 Dynamic Handler is a high-throughput handler for volume testing consumer devices such as MCUs and DSPs, and supports complex ICs and their advanced packaging technologies, including BGA, CSP and QFP.

Capable of parallel testing up to 16 devices, the M4841 doubles the capability of the earlier industry-leading handler, also from Advantest. The M4841 delivers a high throughput of 18,500 devices-per-hour — 3X the throughput capacity of its predecessor — setting a new industry standard.

Technological innovations, such as Soft Touch handling using electro- pneumatic air pressure to avoid damaging extremely miniaturized parts during touchdowns, also contribute to the M4841’s performance and suitability for dense, new micro consumer devices.

In addition to high test parallelism, the modular design of the M4841 handler provides options for parallelism, temperature range and device processing capacity, thus enabling customers to select the optimal configuration for their testing requirements. This reduces installation costs and, with an industry standard setting low jam rate and low mis-contact rate, contributes to overall lower cost of test.

The two new digital solutions available for the test cell are the latest in a suite of Advantest’s digital consumer solutions. The full suite includes two new analog modules (AAWGD for audio and BBWGD for BaseBand and video) with twice the channel counts of alternative solutions, and a 6.5GDM for high-speed interface test.

About Advantest
Advantest Corporation is the world’s leading supplier of automatic test equipment (ATE) to the semiconductor industry. Advantest’s SoC, logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers and device handlers are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor fabrication lines in the world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its North American subsidiary in 1982 and its European subsidiary in 1984. More information is available at http://www.advantest.com/.

Source: Advantest Corporation

July 17, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — LEHIGH VALLEY, PA — Air Products and Fujifilm Electronic Materials U.S.A., Inc. today announced that they have signed a sole licensing agreement for the Air Products’ patented PDEMS(TM) interlayer dielectric (ILD) Process. The technology is designed to make a porous low-k dielectric material by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).

The license agreement allows Fujifilm to supply the materials to semiconductor manufacturers that make use of Air Products’ patented PDEMS(TM) ILD Process.

The PDEMS(TM) ILD Process, developed by Air Products, is a breakthrough process for making a porous low-k dielectric material by PECVD. As claimed in US Patent numbers 6,583,048 and 6,846,515, the organosilicate structure of the film is created using a diethoxymethylsilane precursor, referred to as a “structure former.” Pores are imparted to the film by employing a hydrocarbon-based precursor known as a “porogen” that co-deposits during the growth of the film. Pores are created by removing the porogen using various post-treatment processes.

Under the license agreement, Air Products will continue to sell DEMS(TM) (diethoxymethylsilane) and porogens for use in the PDEMS(TM) ILD Process. Fujifilm Electronic Materials U.S.A. will sell its own D-MEOS(TM) (diethoxymethylsilane) and porogens for use in the PDEMS(TM) ILD Process. Both companies will interface directly with customers in selling the precursors used in the patented process.

“Our customers have challenged material suppliers to step up and help them continue the historical rate of roadmap progress. The creation of Air Products’ PDEMS(TM) ILD Process is a response to this challenge,” says Corning Painter, vice president of electronics for Air Products. “Our agreement with Fujifilm is a commitment by Air Products and Fujifilm to provide semiconductor manufacturers the ability to easily access this material technology anywhere in the world.”

“Fujifilm is committed to partnering with our customers to ensure that they have the enabling materials and processes they need to foster greater innovation,” says Keiji Mihayashi, president and CEO of FUJIFILM Electronic Materials U.S.A, Inc. “In addition to our existing broad product lines already supporting the semiconductor manufacturing and electronic materials markets, this license will allow for a new level of collaboration with our customers and OEM partners.”

About Air Products
Air Products serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $9 billion, operations in more than 40 countries, and more than 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM Electronic Materials U.S.A. Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, with regional headquarters in Japan, United States and Belgium and several manufacturing and R&D facilities located worldwide. The company supplies advanced technology chemistry and delivery equipment to the semiconductor and flat panel display fabrication market. FUJIFILM Corporation brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries including medical, life sciences, consumer electronic, chemical, graphic arts, information systems, photography and office products based on its vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. It was ranked number 15 for U.S. patents granted in 2006, employs more than 75,000 people worldwide and in the year ended March 31, 2007, had global revenues of $23.6 billion. Fujifilm ADRs (American Depository Receipts) are traded in the U.S. on the NASDAQ exchange. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.

Source: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

July 17, 2007 — WESTBROOK, ME — Data taken at Yellowstone National Park during Mission #2 of the ARTEL Extreme Pipetting Expedition show that pipettes deliver volumes inaccurate by up to 37 percent when handling fluids at temperatures different from the pipettes. Called thermal disequilibrium, this source of error is prevalent in today’s laboratories, as many assays and tests require the addition of liquids that are warmer or colder than the laboratory environment and the actual pipettes. Yellowstone was selected for Mission #2 of the Expedition because it is emblematic of thermal variation and disequilibrium. The Extreme Pipetting Expedition is a multi-phase, year-long scientific study to investigate and illustrate the impact of laboratory conditions on data integrity.

ARTEL is releasing the results from Mission #2 of the Extreme Pipetting Expedition at the 2007 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, San Diego, CA, July 17-19, Booth #4143. The data will also be published at www.artel-usa.com/extreme.

“From our testing at Yellowstone, it is clear that pipettes show a bias in volume delivery when dispensing fluids at different temperatures, and the error is especially significant when handling small liquid quantities,” says George Rodrigues, PhD, senior Scientific manager at ARTEL and Expedition leader. “Laboratories must account for this variation to ensure good accuracy and precision in test results.”

Data taken at Yellowstone show that error caused by thermal disequilibrium was most significant when using smaller volume pipettes at their minimum volumes. For example, a 2-microliter variable-volume pipette set to deliver 0.2 microliters over-delivered cold liquid (3 degrees Celsius) by 37 percent and under-delivered warm liquid (45 degrees Celsius) by 24 percent, compared with liquid at room temperature (21 degrees Celsius). When set to deliver its maximum volume (2 microliters), the pipette over-delivered cold liquid by one percent and under-delivered warm liquid by 7 percent.

As expected, error was present, but smaller, when working with larger liquid volumes. The 20-microliter pipette set to deliver two microliters over-delivered cold liquid by 4 percent. When the pipette was set to deliver its maximum volume of 20 microliters, the over-delivery amounted to 0.6 percent.

“There are not many laboratory managers who would knowingly accept error of more than a few percent, let alone error of 37 percent,” says Doreen Rumery, quality control manager at ARTEL and Extreme Pipetting Expedition member. “Yet many technicians frequently pipette warm and cold liquids in critical testing and assay work without accounting for volume variation.”

The aim of the Extreme Pipetting Expedition is to raise awareness about common laboratory extremes that can affect data quality, including the thermal disequilibrium phenomenon. Restriction enzymes used in nucleic acid work, for example, are frequently handled at ice temperature (0 degrees Celsius), and higher temperatures are encountered when handling mammalian cell cultures (37 degrees Celsius) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) solutions (60 degrees Celsius or higher).

The resulting volume differences can be explained by the air displacement operation of pipettes. The dead air volume in pipettes acts to pull liquid into the pipette tip. When inserting the pipette tip into warm fluid, the air inside the tip is at ambient temperature. During aspiration, the pipette tip heats up, causing the air to expand and push liquid out of the tip. This causes less liquid to be dispensed, leading to variation between the target and delivered volumes. The opposite occurs when pipetting cold liquids.

“Since the magnitude of error is dependent on a number of protocol-specific details, such as pipetting speed and type of sample container, a one-size-fits-all correction factor does not currently exist,” says Rodrigues. “ARTEL will continue to study thermal disequilibrium to help laboratories develop strategies to minimize this source of error.”

The naturally unstable conditions at Yellowstone exemplified the challenges laboratories face with sometimes unpredictable or uncharacterized changes in the testing environment. For example, humidity and ambient air temperature greatly fluctuated through stages of the testing, leading to volume variation and, in some cases, inability to isolate fluid temperature as the source of error. Affected data were not reported. To reduce environmental variation, ARTEL repeated the testing in a controlled laboratory and summarized the results in a poster entitled “Errors Associated with Pipetting Warm and Cold Liquids,” which is available for download at www.artel-usa.com/extreme.

Volumes were measured using the ARTEL PCS(R) (Pipette Calibration System), a portable, robust measurement technology based on ratiometric photometry. The system is unaffected by the environment and is highly accurate and precise, even at small volumes.

About ARTEL
ARTEL is the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance. ARTEL manufactures the most accurate, precise and easy-to-use systems for ensuring data integrity in liquid volume measurement. ARTEL systems, based on proprietary Ratiometric Photometry, conform to ISO 8655-7 and provide NIST-traceable results. In addition, ARTEL provides liquid handling quality assurance support and consultation services including on-site pipetting technique training and certification for pipette users and laboratory managers, as well as Liquid Handler Performance Verification services for automated laboratories. Since 1982, ARTEL technology has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories including pharmaceutical, clinical, forensic, public health and environmental. Leading institutions such as Amgen, ARUP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Centers for Disease Control, DuPont, Eli Lilly, FBI, Genentech, Genomic Health, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Merck, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble and U.S. FDA depend on ARTEL technology to help them meet their objectives for quality and productivity. For more information, contact ARTEL at 25 Bradley Drive, Westbrook, ME 04092; Tel: 207-854-0860; Fax: 207-854-0867; web site: www.artel-usa.com.

July 17, 2007 — SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Following its change of ownership in May 2007 from The Linde Group, BOC Edwards announced today at SEMICON West that it will become Edwards, effective immediately.

“As a leading supplier of vacuum, abatement, chemical management equipment, and services to the world’s semiconductor OEMs and fabs, Edwards will continue to provide superior technology and global service and support to its customers worldwide,” says Nigel Hunton, CEO, Edwards. “With the support of our new owners, CCMP Capital, we intend to invest in growing Edwards as a newly independent, privately owned company, offering greater responsiveness and flexibility to surpass our customers expectations.”

Edwards is the global vacuum technology company that industry has known and trusted for nearly 100 years. Founded by F.D. Edwards in 1919, Edwards High Vacuum International was acquired by The BOC Group in 1968 and became BOC Edwards in 1997. The BOC Group was acquired by The Linde Group in September 2006.

CCMP Capital purchased BOC Edwards’ equipment business from The Linde Group in May 2007. This newly independent, privately owned company will now be known to the industry as Edwards — a global company with more than 4,000 skilled employees.

visit www.edwardsvacuum.com for more information about the company.

About Edwards
Edwards (formerly BOC Edwards) is a leading supplier of integrated solutions for the manufacture of microelectronics devices, including semiconductors and flat panel displays. It is also a world leader in vacuum technology for industrial, scientific, process, and R&D applications. Edwards employs around 4,000 people globally, in the design, manufacture and support of high technology vacuum equipment. Edwards invented the concept of the commercial oil-free “dry” vacuum pump and now supplements this with a wide range of other pumping technologies as well as related products and services.

July 17, 2007 — /PRIME NEWSWIRE/ — CHASKA, MN — Entegris, Inc. announced today a major win from a large semiconductor manufacturer based in Asia for approximately 16,000 units of its Spectra(TM) front-opening unified pod (FOUP). The customer will use the FOUPs, which are slated for delivery beginning in the current quarter, to protect and transport silicon wafers throughout its manufacturing process.

The Spectra(TM) line of 300 mm wafer carriers allows semiconductor manufacturers to increase yields by decreasing the contamination that contributes to yield loss. The carrier, which holds up to 26 wafers, limits contact to the wafer edges, thus avoiding potential damage to the back sides of the wafers. The high-performance unit is made from ultrapure materials and features an extremely precise interface to other semiconductor equipment. It is purge-capable and has an electro-static discharge shell option for added wafer protection.

“Semiconductor manufacturers recognize Entegris as a proven partner in helping them protect the integrity of their products,” says Jean-Marc Pandraud, COO for Entegris. “The Spectra FOUP continues that reputation by offering the most robust wafer transport at a time when manufacturers are facing increased challenges with smaller linewidths and greater contamination potential. Spectra delivers a clean and secure environment and optimum automation integration at a low cost of ownership.”

About Entegris
Entegris is the global leader in materials integrity management, delivering a wide range of products for purifying, protecting and transporting critical materials used in processing and manufacturing in semiconductor and other high tech industries. Entegris is ISO 9001 certified and has manufacturing, customer service and/or research facilities in the United States, China, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Additional information can be found at www.entegris.com.