ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews a number of published and other documented benefits that users of air ionization have reported in reducing surface contamination. Triboelectric charging can occur when the package of an integrated semiconductor slides down the rails of a test handler, even if the rails are metal and are grounded. Many of the materials used in cleanrooms, such as plastic, quartz, ceramic, rubber, glass and silicon, are good insulators that are easily charged. Air ionization is the only active means of controlling static charges in clean rooms, mini-environments and other critical environments. Air ionization systems cannot prevent the generation of static charges, but they can suppress the level of charge generated, and immediately they will begin neutralizing the charge. An additional benefit of air ionization in a cleanroom has to do with microprocessors. By effectively eliminating electrostatic discharge, air ionization minimizes product contamination, prevents robotic failure and aids in the achievement of fully automated manufacturing processes.
