Cleanrooms are carefully designed spaces where the air is continuously monitored to minimize particulate matter. Strict standards are applied here because even the smallest dust particles can have a major impact in industries where precision and hygiene are indispensable, such as the semiconductor industry, hospitals and professional kitchens.
In a clean room, accurate testing for the presence of invisible dust, including fine dust and ultrafine dust. These microscopic dustparticles, invisible to the naked eye, can disrupt the operation of sensitive equipment or carry harmful microorganisms, such as fungi, viruses and bacteria. A seemingly insignificant dust particle can thus affect the quality of products or even lead to serious hygiene problems.
Fine Dust and sector-specific requirements
The requirements for fine dust in cleanrooms vary widely depending on the sector. In the semiconductor industry (semicon), such as at ASML, it’s all about preventing “dead particulate matterparticles. Even a single microscopic dust particle here can cause malfunctions in high-precision technology, such as chip machines.
In hospitals and commercial kitchens, the focus is precisely on “living particulate matterparticles, such as microorganisms. These microscopic organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, can contaminate food or cause infections. The number of colony-forming units (cfu) is therefore often used to measure the hygiene of these environments.
The degree of control of particulate matter also varies considerably. In semiconvironments, where technology is highly sensitive, the ultrafine dust is one of the biggest challenges. This invisible dustparticles can accumulate in equipment, causing costly errors. By comparison, control in a hospital operating room is less stringent, although even there minimizing these particles is crucial to reducing infection risks. Controlling particulate matter, regardless of the industry, is critical to both optimal performance and maximum safety.
How Highcare particulate matter and invisible dust minimizes
Even the most advanced HEPA filters do not succeed in eliminating all types of particulate matter and ultrafine dust completely removed. That’s why Highcare deploys additional technologies, such as UVC lighting. This technology destroys microorganisms by literally destroying their DNA, preventing them from multiplying. This provides an additional layer of protection against microscopic, invisible dust particles that would otherwise pose a risk. Thanks to these measures, cleanrooms remain a safe and reliable environment for applications where extreme precision, maximum hygiene and strict control of fine dust are indispensable.