Stuttgart, February 1996
Potential crime scene: a research laboratory. Potential victim: a tiny microchip. Potential malefactor: a grain of dust. Daimler-Benz researchers maintain a round-the-clock alert to banish all impurities from the clean room - even particles with a diameter less than one thousandth of a millimetre can gouge deep craters on the microchips made here.In "Class 10" clean-room conditions, 28 litres of air (or one cubic foot) contain no more than ten particles of dirt - whereas normal city air contains many hundreds of thousands of dirt particles. Only by taking extravagant technical precautions can the requisite standards of cleanliness be attained; the entire air in the clean room has to be pumped through complex filters several times an hour. The lab air is slightly pressurised in order to prevent particles entering from the outside.
The researchers must observe strict discipline when working under these conditions. After all, they themselves are a potential dirt source: every human being carries around about two billion particles of dust in his or her hair and clothing. Before entering the clean room therefore, the lab staff have to pass through a sealed chamber where they take an air "shower". This removes even the finest dust particles, while the sticky floor of the chamber traps dirt particles adhering to the soles of their shoes. And the clean room is a no-go area for smokers - even without a cigarette they breathe out too many particles.
In such clean rooms, the Daimler-Benz researchers produce microsystems. Unlike microelectronic systems, microsystems consist not just of electronic circuitry but also of microscopically small mechanical and optical components or chemical sensors.
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© 1996 Daimler-Benz