Undergraduate students at the Chemical Engineering Department of Clarkson University experiment with microcontamination control, particularly as it applies to gas filtration. Students work with particle size distributions and statistical data analysis, measuring and controlling particles smaller than one micrometer. The techniques and nomenclature learned in this experiment aid students in such broad fields as pollution control and industrial hygiene, and also give them specific insight into the concerns of the microelectronics industry. The major cause of low manufacturing yields in microelectronics production is the device failures produced by microcontamination. As devices with smaller critical dimensions are produced the problems posed by submicron particle contamination will increase. The new equipment in this laboratory experiment includes a laser light scattering particle counter, a condensation nucleus counter, a laminar air flow clean hood, ultraclean stainless steel tubing, valves, regulators, and filter housings, and a computer for data logging.
