Clean Room Products and Services Key Terms

To make smarter business choices, understand the key terms of clean room products and services

By Howard Robertson

A clean room is an enclosed clean space with a controlled environment. In these rooms, airborne particles are reduced to a minimum level and the temperature and humidity of the air is controlled. Many industries, ranging from the electronics industry to the pharmaceutical industry, depend upon clean room technology.

Whether you want to become a clean room products manufacturer or service provider, you will need to understand the various technical terms related to clean rooms. This guide intends to familiarize you with the key terms related to clean room products and services, such as HEPA filters, tacky mat, bunny suits and ISO 14644.

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter

A HEPA filter is a replaceable filter with a minimum particle collection efficiency of 99.97% for 0.3 micron particles and a maximum clean-filter pressure drop of 2.54cm water gauge.
Try: For information about HEPA filters, you can refer to the glossary by Lymtech Scientific, a manufacturer of clean room products. Clean Rooms West, Inc., a provider of clean room products and services, also provides the explanation for HEPA filters.

ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filter

An ULPA filter has a minimum particle collection efficiency of 99.9995% for particles of size 0.12 microns and larger.
Try: Envirco Corporation, a manufacturer of clean air systems, provides information regarding ULPA filters.

Tacky mat

A tacky mat is a large mat at the entrance of the clean room. The surface of the mat is coated with a sticky film, which removes excess particles from the footwear of personnel entering the clean room.
Try: You can refer to the clean room glossary by fishersci.com, a website by Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Bunny suits

A bunny suit is a special uniform that prevents skin and hair from being shed in a clean room environment. This uniform is mandatory for all personnel entering the clean room premises.
Try: You can learn more about bunny suits at Intel’s website.

Contamination

Contamination is a process that causes materials or surfaces to be soiled with contaminating matters. Film type and particulates are the two major categories of surface contaminants.
Try: Pegasus Cleanroom Services and Coastwide Laboratories provide detailed information about contamination and the various sources of contamination.

Class 100 clean room

A class 100 clean room restricts the particle count (per cubic foot of air) to 100 particles.
Try: GlobalSpec, an online resource, provides explanation about various clean rooms, including a class 100 clean room. You can also refer to Data Recovery Group’s website for information about a class 100 clean room.

ISO 14644

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides the standard ISO 14644 for clean rooms. This standard emphasizes the requirements for clean room operations.
Try: For a complete understanding about this standard, you can refer to ISO’s website.