Electronic circuits are the hidden workers behind many of the devices we use every day. Found in smartphones, computers, digital watches and televisions, this ubiquitous technology would not be possible without compressed air powering the production process. But before we look at how oil-free air helps bring these tiny devices to life, let’s examine how they’re made.
How are electronic circuits made?
Electronic circuits are formed from a specific class of material called semiconductors. As the name suggests, a semiconductor is a substance that partially transfers electricity; it has more conductivity than an insulator (like glass, rubber or rocks), but less than a conductor (like metal). Silicon is the most commonly used semiconductor for electronic circuit production.
Production begins with a piece of semiconductor called a wafer. Wafers are made from extremely pure silicon and are the basis for most electronic circuits. The wafer undergoes multiple rounds of photolithographic and chemical processes to layer and shape the circuit. These steps are divided into four groups: deposition, removal, patterning and modification. Throughout these steps, various layers of chemicals and materials are added to the wafer and cured with heat or light. The wafer is also etched to form the pathways electrical currents will eventually follow. Depending on the number of production steps, the full process takes at least six weeks.
Special laboratories called fabs are used to make and test electrical circuits. These high-volume facilities use large amounts of energy to make vast numbers of circuits required for all of our electronic devices.
Oil-free air is essential
Though powerful, most electronic circuits are very delicate and susceptible to contamination, especially during production. The development process requires extremely clean air to avoid damaged or malfunctioning products. Workers must wear cleanroom suits to avoid any amount of human contamination. Even more harmful to the product is exposure to hydrocarbons, which can cause irreparable damage to the circuits.
100 percent oil-free air is a must for semiconductor and electrical circuit fabs. Compressed air powers many of the machines involved in the production process and contacts the products at one point or another. No matter the level of filtration, there is always a risk that oil-injected compressors will pass some residual aerosols to the end use. In semiconductor and circuit production, this can lead to deposits on final products causing defects, rejections, short circuits and other malfunctions.
Developing semiconductors is an intricate and delicate process that requires patience, expertise and 100 percent oil-free air. Atlas Copco’s range of ZH and ZH+ centrifugal compressors and line of Z screw compressors are ideal for high volume, sterile manufacturing. Contact an Atlas Copco expert today to learn more about our Class 0 compressors for semiconductor production.
