Design of a submicron facility with SMIF optimized cleanroom system

A facility for submicron VLSI chip manufacturing has been designed with the concept of the SMIF (standard mechanical interface) optimized cleanroom system. This facility involves an 80000 square foot cleanroom with a class 1000 ambient nonlaminar air flow, with equipment isolated in subclass 1 islands, each with SMIF interfaces. Significant reduction in the clean air requirements resulted in a reduction in air handling requirements, thereby leading to reduced construction and operating costs. Isolated subclass 1 islands provide assured cleanliness even in the event of external contamination disturbances. In effect, class 1 is assured immediately above the exposed wafers in such a facility as compared to at-the-ceiling as in a conventional cleanroom. Facility design concepts and estimates of cost savings in facility construction and operation are presented.<>