CONTRACT MANUFACTURING
Delivering semiconductor manufacturing cleanroom fire safety
As semiconductor nodes become smaller and fire risks continue to increase, the industry is using very early detection fire safety devices to protect sensitive tools and processes from smoke contamination.
F
or semiconductor fabricators, there is a critical need to protect the cleanroom environment from fires, as well as from the associated contamination from smoke particulate that can cause catastrophic product and process equipment damage. “Any kind of fire can quickly become a potentially catastrophic scenario in a cleanroom due to the amount of equipment and product that is exposed to fire and smoke contamination,” says Matt Wyman, chief executive officer and chief technology officer of Koetter Fire Protection International, LLC (KFPI), a Notifier by Honeywell Premier Dealer and a company that designs, installs, and certifies engineered fire protection systems for semiconductor process tools.
One concern at the tool level is the proximity of combustible materials to high voltage equipment, such as high-powered lasers used in metrology and photolithography processes and plasma-based systems used in ion implanters.
As a result, all systems must meet the safety standards set forth in the National Electrical Code and by organizations such as NFPA and SEMI.
“In equipment with higher-than-normal risks, especially from electrical hazards, it is fairly common for the fab tool OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to integrate high sensitivity smoke detection systems at the equipment level,” says Wyman.
Generally, OEMs outsource the fire detection or suppression systems design, installation and validation testing to companies like KFPI, with work completed before the tool is shipped to the semiconductor manufacturing fab. For electrical hazards, the fire safety system includes the full integration of high sensitivity smoke detection systems like VESDA devices.
KFPI commonly installs and integrates an economical “mini VESDA” unit, such as the VESDA LaserFOCUS (VLF) from Notifier, within each tool. The VLF is designed to protect small tool manufacturing environments. Since semiconductor tools are essentially small rooms, the unit is well suited to the application. Available in two models covering up to 2,500 or 5,000 sq. ft., the detector works by continually
Honeywell VESDA VLF front view: As semiconductor nodes become smaller and fire risks continue to increase, the industry is using very early detection fire safety devices like Honeywell’s VESDA Laser- Focus to protect sensitive tools and processes from smoke contamination.
drawing air into sampling holes in a pipe network. The air is filtered and passed into a detection chamber where light scattering technology detects the presence of very small amounts of smoke. The VESDA VLF supports a number of pre-engineered pipe network designs to simplify installation. “Over the years, KFPI has had access to essentially every technology in the market and has not found any to be as precise and reliable as VESDA units, which are powerful and configurable if set up properly,” says Wyman. There are considerable airflow issues to manage given all the equipment within a tool, so KFPI must also properly mount and route the air sampling piping to enable it to reach all the critical areas. Before the tool is shipped to a fab, KFPI performs “wire burn” testing to validate that the unit detects the specified fire size or incipient thermal event and alarms properly. “The VESDA enables sampling air across multiple detection points, which offers more flexibility in the design process. By knowing where the potential hazards are within the tool, we can work with the OEM to install a system that meets the fire safety requirements,” says
Wyman.
In KFPI’s experience, VESDA units have proven to be effective in the field. Traditional spot smoke detectors simply do not work in these high airflow exhaust environments because the smoke particles are diluted to levels far below available alarm levels. High sensitivity smoke detection is required within these types of tool applications to provide real protection. “For semiconductor fab facilities concerned about potential damage from smoke contamination, having reliable fire detection equipment that is highly sensitive and can produce repeatable results is critical,” says Wyman. “Given the large presence of high voltage production equipment and increasing use of pyrophoric liquids and gases within fab tools, there are increasing needs to install VESDA high sensitivity smoke detection systems. These are not only being proven in testing and field applications but are also increasingly included in regulatory standards.”
By Del Williams
Del Williams is a Technical Writer who lives in Torrance, California.
FEBRUARY 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
