CleanLab 2020

Thanks to a cleanliness concept that is unique throughout the world, since mid-September 2013 the newly-designed laboratory tract CleanLab has extended the Fraunhofer IPA range of services regarding cleanliness and the evaluation of the cleanability of components, surfaces and liquids. In the course of this, the existing cleanroom - with a surface area of approx. 200 m² and currently the best air cleanliness class of Class 1 (according to ISO 14644-1) - has been linked to a graduated cleanliness-optimized cleanroom concept of ISO Class 3, 6 and 8 CleanLab laboratories. The Department of Ultraclean Technologies and Micromanufacturing was not only responsible for CleanLab’s design but also for its realization.

With the new labs, the cleanliness demands of industries ranging from automotive engineering through medical and pharmaceutical industries right up to aerospace and semiconductor manufacturing can be processed by means of the comprehensive networking of cleaning and cleanliness validation. The latest automated light-optical, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopes, Raman spectrometer and 3-D computer tomographs supply the best answers not only to current but also future cleanliness issues.

Customers from industry will also be able to experience the new laboratory area directly thanks to the training courses that be held there. In a unique combination of theory and practice, Fraunhofer IPA employees working in contamination-critical areas will be holding seminars on technical cleanliness as well as offering a basic seminar about manufacturing under clean conditions.

Test environment:

- Turbulent cleanroom zones with air cleanliness classes 6 and 8 according to ISO 14644-1
- Laminar cleanroom zones with air cleanliness classes 1 and 3 according to ISO 14644-1

Extraction equipment:

- Pressure-rinsing cabinet for components of different sizes, ranging from small to large
- Equipment for extraction by ultrasound
- Rinsing facility with high volume flows
- Separate test report for highly-clean components

Analysis equipment:

- Light microscope for the automated analysis of particles 5 µm and upwards
- Fluorescence microscope
- Scanning electron microscope for automated particle analysis
- Micro-CT for 3-D particle analysis
- Scanner for particle analysis
- Five-digit analysis scales