![]() ![]() In addition, affordable fused filament fabrication (FFF)-based 3-D printing has successfully produced high-quality and affordable scientific equipment, focusing on tools without strict chemical compatibility limitations. The results demonstrate that simple 3-D printed objects, such as wafer boxes or tweezers, are not notable contamination sources, and hence, are equally suitable for use in cleanrooms as the commercial equivalents.ģ-D printing shows great potential in laboratories for making customized labware and reaction vessels. Finally, 3-D printing filaments considered in this study are shown to be resistant to isopropanol and deionized water, which is critical for efficient cleaning for use of 3-D printed objects in cleanrooms. Thus, 3-D printing filaments with natural color should be preferred for purposes, where metal contamination could be an issue, including semiconductor processing. Elemental analysis reveals that 3-D printed objects contain no other harmful metal impurities than those originating from colorants. Regular cleaning of those parts is thus recommended, and applicability in a cleanroom environment will depend on the cleanliness constraints. The 3-D wafer positioner seems to cause a negligible particle increase on the manipulated wafer, while abrasion of the mechanical parts generate larger numbers of particles that may disperse in the environment. ![]() Nevertheless, the number of particles on all wafers is in the same order of magnitude, indicating that 3-D printed boxes are not significant particle sources. The results show that the single wafer boxes 3-D printed from PLA and ABS generate as little particles as a commercial equivalent, whereas slightly more particles are found from a wafer stored in the self-printed PP box. The designed equipment supplements commercial selection by introducing support for samples with non-standard shape or size and simultaneously reduces the price of often extensively expensive cleanroom equipment. This work investigates the opportunity to utilize 3-D printing in cleanrooms by analyzing three potentially suitable polymers (polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polypropylene (PP)) for two applications that do not require particular chemical compatibility: a custom single wafer storage box and a wafer positioner for a metrology system. However, the applicability of 3-D printed devices to cleanrooms used for semiconductor processing is not as straightforward, as the controlled environment sets strict requirements for the allowed materials and items. 3-D printing has potential to revolutionize manufacturing of customized low-cost scientific equipment, and numerous self-designed applications have already been realized and demonstrated.
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