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Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuits (ICs) such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, and memories. It is a multiple-step photolithographic and physico-chemical process during which electronic circuits are gradually created on a wafer, typically made of pure single-crystal semiconducting material. Silicon is almost always used, but various compound semiconductors are used for specialized applications.
A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space that maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientific research and in industrial production for all nanoscale processes, such as semiconductor device manufacturing. A cleanroom is designed to keep everything from dust to airborne organisms or vaporised particles away from it, and so from whatever material is being handled inside it.
SMIF is a wafer carrier used in semiconductor wafer fabrication and cleanroom environments. The isolation technology was developed in the 1980s by a group known as the "micronauts" at Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto. It is a SEMI standard.
Blow-Fill-Seal, also spelled as Blow/Fill/Seal, in this article abbreviated as BFS, is an automated manufacturing process by which plastic containers, such as bottles or ampoules are, in a continuous operation, blow-formed, filled, and sealed. It takes place in a sterile, enclosed area inside a machine, without human intervention, and thus can be used to aseptically manufacture sterile pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical liquid/semiliquid unit-dosage forms. BFS is an advanced aseptic processing technology that is typically used for filling and packaging of certain sterile liquid formulations like liquid ophthalmics, inhalational anesthetics, or lavaging agents, but can also be used for injectables, parenteral medicines, and several other liquid or semiliquid medications, with fill volumes ranging from 0.1...1000 cm³. Compared against traditional glass ampoules, BFS ampoules are inexpensive, lightweight, and shatterproof.
Microfabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures of micrometre scales and smaller. Historically, the earliest microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication, also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" or "semiconductor device fabrication". In the last two decades, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microsystems, micromachines and their subfields have re-used, adapted or extended microfabrication methods. These subfields include microfluidics/lab-on-a-chip, optical MEMS, RF MEMS, PowerMEMS, BioMEMS and their extension into nanoscale. The production of flat-panel displays and solar cells also uses similar techniques.
In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant, also called a fab or a foundry, is a factory where integrated circuits (ICs) are manufactured.
A particle counter is used for monitoring and diagnosing particle contamination within specific clean media, including air, water, and chemicals. Particle counters are used to support clean manufacturing practices in a variety of industrial applications. Clean manufacturing is required for the production of many electronic components and assemblies, pharmaceutical drug products and medical devices, and industrial technologies such as oil and gas.
Air showers are specialized enclosed antechambers which are incorporated as entryways of cleanrooms and other controlled environments to reduce particle contamination. Air showers utilize high-pressure, HEPA- or ULPA-filtered air to remove dust, fibrous lint and other contaminants from personnel or object surfaces. The forceful "cleansing" of surfaces before entering clean environments reduces the number of airborne particulates introduced.
Pharmaceutical microbiology is an applied branch of microbiology. It involves the study of microorganisms associated with the manufacture of pharmaceuticals e.g. minimizing the number of microorganisms in a process environment, excluding microorganisms and microbial byproducts like exotoxin and endotoxin from water and other starting materials, and ensuring the finished pharmaceutical product is sterile. Other aspects of pharmaceutical microbiology include the research and development of anti-infective agents, the use of microorganisms to detect mutagenic and carcinogenic activity in prospective drugs, and the use of microorganisms in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products like insulin and human growth hormone.
Entegris, Inc. is a supplier of materials for the semiconductor and other high-tech industries. Entegris has approximately 8,000 employees throughout its global operations. It has manufacturing, customer service and/or research facilities in the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Billerica, Massachusetts.
The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) is a non-profit, technical society where professionals who impact controlled environments connect, gain knowledge, receive advice, and work together to create industry best practices. The organization uniquely serves environmental test engineers, qualification engineers, cleanroom professionals, those who work in product testing and evaluation, and others who work across a variety of industries, including: acoustics, aerospace, automotive, biotechnology/bioscience, climatics, cleanroom operations/design/equipment/certification, dynamics, filtration, food processing, HVAC design, medical devices, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical, semiconductors/microelectronics, and shock/vibration. Information on ISO 14644 and ISO 14698 standards can be found through this organization.
ISO 14644 Standards were first formed from the US Federal Standard 209E Airborne Particulate Cleanliness Classes in Cleanrooms and Clean Zones. The need for a single standard for cleanroom classification and testing was long felt. After ANSI and IEST petitioned to ISO for new standards, the first document of ISO 14644 was published in 1999, ISO 14644-1.
Contamination control is the generic term for all activities aiming to control the existence, growth and proliferation of contamination in certain areas. Contamination control may refer to the atmosphere as well as to surfaces, to particulate matter as well as to microbes and to contamination prevention as well as to decontamination.
Cleanability is a term used to describe a material's ability to have contaminants removed such as residue, stains, deposits, microorganisms, and dust. The term is applicable to materials used in the production of surfaces, tools, utensils, etc, that come into contact with media such as food, chemicals, or bio-hazardous materials that must be removed from the implements to prevent possible contamination of other media during later use. Highly cleanable materials will transfer little to no media from one batch to another if proper cleaning procedures are followed.
Reliability of a semiconductor device is the ability of the device to perform its intended function during the life of the device in the field.
Cleanroom suitability describes the suitability of a machine, operating utility, material, etc. for use in a cleanroom, where air cleanliness and other parameters are controlled by way of technical regulations in accordance with ISO 14644.
Ultrapure water (UPW), high-purity water or highly purified water (HPW) is water that has been purified to uncommonly stringent specifications. Ultrapure water is a term commonly used in manufacturing to emphasize the fact that the water is treated to the highest levels of purity for all contaminant types, including: organic and inorganic compounds; dissolved and particulate matter; volatile and non-volatile; reactive, and inert; hydrophilic and hydrophobic; and dissolved gases.
A fan filter unit (FFU) is a type of motorized air filtering equipment. It is used to supply purified air to cleanrooms, laboratories, medical facilities or microenvironments by removing harmful airborne particles from recirculating air. The units are installed within the system's ceiling or floor grid. Large cleanrooms require a proportionally large number of FFUs, which in some cases may range from several hundred to several thousand. Units often contain their own pre-filter, HEPA filter and internally controllable fan air distribution.
Biomanufacturing is a type of manufacturing or biotechnology that utilizes biological systems to produce commercially important biomaterials and biomolecules for use in medicines, food and beverage processing, and industrial applications. Biomanufacturing products are recovered from natural sources, such as blood, or from cultures of microbes, animal cells, or plant cells grown in specialized equipment. The cells used during the production may have been naturally occurring or derived using genetic engineering techniques.
Carbon dioxide cleaning (CO2 cleaning) comprises a family of methods for parts cleaning and sterilization, using carbon dioxide in its various phases. Due to being non-destructive, non-abrasive, and residue-free, it is often preferred for use on delicate surfaces. CO2 cleaning has found application in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical, and other industries. Carbon dioxide snow cleaning has been used to remove particles and organic residues from metals, polymers, ceramics, glasses, and other materials, and from surfaces including hard drives and optical surfaces.