Published Papers

Texwipe experts frequently publish informative technical articles and peer-reviewed papers in important trade journals. Informative technical articles and peer-reviewed papers written by Texwipe experts and published in important trade journals are available below.

SWABS

WIPERS

  • Cleaning CMP Residues with Pre-wetted Wipers - This article addresses effective approaches to removing the process residues and environmental contamination encountered in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) equipment.

  • Cleanroom Wipers: State-of-the-Art Evaluation Techniques - A wide choice of consumable products is offered for sale to the cleanroom marketplace. Distinguishing among these products to determine their suitability for cleanroom use is difficult without in depth testing and measurement of critical characteristics.

  • Comprehensive Particle and Fiber Testing for Cleanroom Wipers - In the semiconductor and data storage industries, cleanroom consumables such as wipers are routinely tested to determine the extent of releasable particles in the submicron to few-micronsized range.

  • Evaluating Sample Preparation Techniques for Cleanroom Wiper Testing - The testing of cleanroom wipers has evolved over the past 20 years from simply shaking a material and visually approximating the amount of lint released to much more complex methods of separating particles from the wiper followed by quantification using sensitive analytical instrumentation.

  • Progress in Pre-Wetted Wiper Cleanliness Levels - Pre-wetted wipers replace the use of dry wipers with squirt bottles and offer a more convenient, cost-effective approach to contamination control. 

  • Reducing Pyrogens in Cleanroom Wiping Materials - In many instances, it is no longer adequate to show that a pharmaceutical or medical device is sterile, but one also must demonstrate that it is “pyrogen free.” This article provides practical information on reducing pyrogens in cleanroom wiping materials prior to production, as well as eliminating residual pyrogens through sterilization.

ESD

  • Basics of Contamination by Electrostatic Attraction - Excess electrical charge plays a significant role in contamination. It can cause an energetic discharge (“electrostatic discharge” or “ESD”) that causes damage, and it can attract particles, by means of “electrostatic attraction” or “ESA,” that can lead to damage.
  • Controlling Electrostatic Attraction of Particles in Production Equipment - Among users and manufacturers of semiconductor production equipment, the effects of electrostatic surface charge are well known. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) damages both products and reticles. ESD events also result in unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI), causing equipment to malfunction.
  • ESD Safety in Cleanrooms: Natural vs. Man-made Materials - Electrostatic charge build-up in cleanrooms can produce higher levels of surface contamination, electrostatic discharges that damage integrated circuits, MR and GMR heads, and electromagnetic pulses that can disrupt robotics.
  • ESD: Another Kind of Lethal Contaminant - Care must be taken to ensure that standard contamination-control measures do not compromise ESD management and vice versa.

STERILE

  • Cleaning Aseptic Fill Areas - For pharmaceuticals that cannot be given terminal sterilization at the end of production, the alternative of aseptic fill is available, requiring sterile materials placed in sterile containers in a cleanroom.

  • Is Your IPA Bottle Doing More Harm Than Good? - Isopropyl alcohol is used throughout the lifescience cleanroom to sanitize work surfaces, gloves and tools. If spores exist in an environment and the trigger mechanism of the bottle pulls in contaminated air, those spores can be dispersed all over your cleanroom. But does that really happen?

  • Contamination Risk & Product Variability - People constitute the greatest contamination risk in any cleanroom. We carry a variety of particulate and microbial contamination with us into a cleanroom, and while gowning protocols may serve to mitigate this contamination risk, the only true way to minimize it is to eliminate the presence of people in controlled environments... 

  • Smart Consumables Usage in Cost-Conscious Environments - Winning in today’s fiercely competitive global environment often means operating under strict cost controls. Wiping materials, comprising a major component of the cleanroom consumables budget, have been the focus of many cost saving programs. The results have sometimes been mixed. End users have found that, indeed, there are ways in which wiping materials can be used more cost-effectively. This paper will address opportunities for smart consumable (wiper) usage without endangering end-product performance. 

  • Comparing the Effectiveness of Knobby and Ridged Post-CMP Cleaning Brushes - Whether used to remove excess metal or oxide from IC chips or thin-film data-storage disks, chemical-mechanical polishing or planarization (CMP) has become an increasingly important and rapidly growing technology.

OTHER

  • Ionizer Pin Cleaning Maintains Performance - Emitter electrodes in ionizing systems for electrostatic charge control will become contaminated with environmental residues over time and these residues will compromise performance by reducing ion density and by generating particles. This article describes why this is the case and how it can be avoided.

  • Abrasion Basics for Contamination Control - Abrasion — the wearing away of one solid surface by another — is a common source of contaminating particulate matter in clean manufacturing. Abrasion-generated particles can be transported by gas, liquid, or solid-solid contact and result in significant damage to products.

  • Is This a Convenient Time to Clean? - No one comes to work in the morning excited about the prospect of cleaning. To make matters worse, often cleanroom surfaces don’t look any different after cleaning. Cleaning is also viewed as a disruption to the orderly flow of manufacturing; ostensibly, if you are cleaning, you cannot be making product.

  • Smart Consumables Usage in Cost-Conscious Environments - Winning in today’s fiercely competitive global environment often means operating under strict cost controls. Wiping materials, comprising a major component of the cleanroom consumables budget, have been the focus of many cost saving programs. The results have sometimes been mixed. End users have found that, indeed, there are ways in which wiping materials can be used more cost-effectively. This paper will address opportunities for smart consumable (wiper) usage without endangering end-product performance.

  • Bibliography on Cleaning Cleanrooms - Recommended information sources for cleaning cleanrooms.