Elkton, Maryland (December 19, 2006) —At a reception in the Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University honored W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., for a donation of cleanroom garments to be used in the semiconductor research space of the center’s Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory, an ISO Class 3 (Class 1) facility. According to John Weaver, facility manager of the center, "I have used GORE™ Cleanroom Garments since they were first designed. When I heard about this donation, I was thrilled, because these are state-of-the-art garments that will help us to achieve the maximum level of cleanliness in the cleanroom. These garments reduce contaminants, increase safety, and provide greater comfort for the researcher, which means that they can conduct more accurate and efficient research."
GORE™ Cleanroom Garments provide a more comfortable fit for the wearer for several reasons. First, the garments are made with a special GORE™ fabric that allows heat and moisture to escape. Second, the suits are available in 16 sizes plus custom, if necessary, minimizing spilling and tripping hazards caused by baggy sleeves and legs. The wearer is able to move about more freely, eliminating the "bellow effect", which can cause additional particle contaminates to be expelled into the cleanroom air. Third, because of superior filtration, a designated undergarment is not required. Unlike polyester garments, GORE™ Cleanroom Garments can be worn directly over street clothes, saving time and money.
GORE™ Cleanroom Garments are made with a proprietary expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane laminated to a 100% polyester knit. The ePTFE membrane does not allow particulates to pass through, making it an ideal protective barrier in a cleanroom garment. This membrane provides filtration efficiency of 99.9999 percent or better for particles measuring 0.12 micrometer or greater. However, the microporous structure of the membrane allows air to flow freely through the garment so that the wearer does not retain so much heat. These garments are non-shedding, and flame- and chemical-resistant. During testing, GORE™ Cleanroom Garments dissipated static in less than 0.1 second at 500 to 5000 volts when the wearer was making contact with grounded or anti-static flooring.
Weaver says that his first experience with the GORE™ Cleanroom Garments was a bit unusual. At the time, he managed DELCO’s advanced development facility, which was the first lab to be certified as a Class 10 (ISO Class 4) cleanroom. After talking with a Gore representative, Weaver decided to test the representative’s claims about the effectiveness of these garments. "To say that I came into this as a skeptic is an understatement. I was determined to design tests with a practical focus to see if these garments really performed the way Gore claimed." Weaver worked closely with Gore’s engineers to create a test protocol for the front-end and back-end of wafer manufacturing, including movement in and around the clean room. Weaver continues, "I was astounded by the test results. The cleanliness improved by orders of magnitude when GORE™ Cleanroom Garments were used. I was definitely convinced that this was a great product. This was the beginning of a 20-year relationship."
In the late 1990s, Weaver upgraded an entire manufacturing cleanroom to ISO Class 3 (Class 1) performance. By this time GORE™ ULPA filters had been introduced , and Weaver had installed them in various wet stations at Delphi. As part of the ISO Class 3 upgrade, Weaver converted these to GORE™ ULPA filters, rebalanced the airflow, and changed from polyester suits to GORE™ Cleanroom Garments. Weaver continued, "Again, I was in for a surprise. We had a yield increase of three times what we had expected. It took us only four months to get the payback we had expected in one year."
Tests have shown that GORE™ Cleanroom Garments retain their filtration efficiency far better than polyester. Over the lifetime of a garment, the weave of polyester tends to open up after repeated washing. According to Weaver, tests he did at Delphi Corporation show that the barrier properties of GORE™ Cleanroom Garments do not degrade. "We found that repairing GORE™ Cleanroom Garments provided us with a perfectly good product to use for at least three years. We saw no change in the filtration efficiency between a brand new garment and one that had been used and laundered for three years."
Drawing on almost 50 years of research in the field of fluoropolymers, W. L. Gore has proven experience in developing the state-of-the-art products needed in a cleanroom environment. Weaver concludes, "During the 20 years I have worked with Gore engineers, I have found them to be very strong technically and extremely responsive to ideas about their products. They have worked closely with me in every cleanroom project I have managed to make sure that we had the best production or research facility possible."
ABOUT W.L. GORE & ASSOCIATES, INC.
W. L. Gore & Associates has made its name by creating innovative, technology-driven solutions, such as high-performance GORE-TEX® fabrics, medical devices, guitar strings and electronic cables used in space exploration. Gore products have set new standards for reliability and performance in the consumer, industrial, electronic, pharmaceutical, medical and surgical markets. A privately held company with annual sales approaching $2 billion, Gore is committed to perpetuating its nearly 50-year tradition of product innovation. The company operates more than 45 facilities worldwide with headquarters in Newark, Delaware, USA. For more information about the complete line of GORE™ Cleanroom Garments, contact Gore customer service at 1.800.346.7391.
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