The Importance of Air Filters in the Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry？

The Importance of Air Filters in the Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry？

Today's air filtration technology can reduce the dust concentration in clean rooms to almost zero, achieving any level of cleanliness you desire.

When the line width on a chip is as small as 0.5μm, it was discovered that chemical pollutants in the air have become the major hazard affecting the yield rate. Thus, chemical filters are commonly installed in the air-conditioning systems of chip factories with a line width less than 0.5μm.

The principle and manufacturing process of chemical filters are not particularly complex. To put it simply, they are actually activated carbon air filters. However, traditional activated carbon air filter manufacturers and military factories have missed the opportunity to supply to chip factories. Most of the activated carbon air filters in chip factories are provided by manufacturers of air-conditioning filters.

The sources of chemical pollutants may be: outdoor air, the manufacturing process itself, people, and finishing materials. In most cases, engineers and on-site workers are also unable to clearly identify the types and concentrations of pollutants. Therefore, the activated carbon air filters provided for them should at least have two characteristics:

Broad-spectrum adsorption performance;

Sufficient amount of activated carbon material.

The so-called broad-spectrum adsorption means being able to adsorb various substances to some extent. The material that can have this function is the most common and cheapest granular activated carbon. If the types of pollutants can be determined, targeted chemical treatment can be carried out on the activated carbon material to enhance its adsorption capacity for specific pollutants. Sometimes, air filter suppliers also need to provide corresponding on-site testing services to help users determine the usage status of the activated carbon air filters. This requires that there are experts in chemical filtration among the suppliers and they have close relationships with well-known chemical laboratories. Unfortunately, few domestic air filter manufacturers have made efforts in this regard, so most of the activated carbon air filters currently used in domestic chip factories are imported products.

The semiconductor industry is not the "smokeless industry" as commonly believed. It also has environmental problems. The latest manufacturing processes and materials are often adopted there. Some chemicals have been widely used before their safety has been evaluated. A single mistake can cause serious chemical pollution, including both groundwater pollution and air pollution. To be on the safe side, some enterprises will also use activated carbon air filters in their exhaust air systems.

China is in the midst of a new wave of fervor for building chip factories. Therefore, a large number of high-efficiency air filters and activated carbon air filters will be needed in China in the next few years.