The use of minienvironments in AMLCD and other FPD manufacturing

The use of minienvironments to provide controlled local environments for fabrication processes has many potential applications in AMLCD and FPD manufacturing. Minienvironments can supply a wide range of cleanliness and environmental control specifications with substantial cost advantages. Besides the minienvironments themselves, usage decisions require consideration of the background cleanroom requirements, substrate isolation options, robotic handling, and transport, and involve both capital installation and operational costs. In order to establish criteria for making appropriate usage decisions, the authors discuss the application of minienvironments to cleanroom applications required for AMLCD and other FPD production with particular attention to the performance and cost tradeoffs for the various options.