Cleanliness suitability describes the suitability of operating materials and ventilation and air conditioning components for use in

cleanrooms A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

where the air cleanliness and other parameters are controlled by way of technical regulations. Tests are carried out to determine this.VDI 2083, Part 17: Cleanroom technology – Cleanroom and cleanliness suitability of materials Trends such as the miniaturization of structures as well as increased levels of reliability in

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, research and science require controlled “clean” manufacturing environments. The task of such environments is to minimize influences which could damage the products concerned. The cleanroom environments created by filtering the air were originally developed for the fields of microelectronics and microsystem technology but are now used in a wide range of other high technology sectors such as

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

and the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

. Depending upon the industry and process concerned, different factors may have a damaging influence on a product, e.g.: # Particles, in microelectronics such as the semiconductor industry and especially biotic particles in life science industries such as pharmaceutics, bio-engineering and medical technology (

cleanroom suitability {{short description, Metrics Cleanroom suitability describes the suitability of a machine, operating utility, material, etc. for use in a cleanroom, where air cleanliness and other parameters are controlled by way of technical regulations in accord ...

) # Molecular contamination (outgassing), especially in microelectronics such as the semiconductor industry # Electrostatic discharge phenomena (ESD), especially in microelectronics such as the semiconductor industry # Resistance to cleaning and disinfection agents, especially in life science industries such as pharmaceutics # Surface interaction, especially in life science industries such as pharmaceutics, bio-engineering and medical technology # Cleanability, especially in life science industries such as pharmaceutics, bio-engineering and medical technology # Microbicidity, especially in life science industries such as pharmaceutics, bio-engineering and medical technology The following factors may be responsible for

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination W ...

: * The cleanroom itself: Staff, although this is becoming less relevant as more and more staff are banned from working in critical areas * The use of manufacturing equipment, which is increasing as more and more automated solutions are being implemented. * Often in direct contact with the product, manufacturing equipment and the materials used in their construction form a further important contamination factor in a clean production environment.

References

{{reflist Cleaning Life sciences industry Cleanroom technology