Solutions, Butterfly valves, Bianca, Semiconductor industry

Expertise in the manufacture of high-purity butterfly valves

Sabine Fanger

Apr. 13, 2021 | 5 min read

High-purity valves are characterised by the fact that they are specially designed for contamination-sensitive production processes and procedures. They need to be manufactured in a clean room under clearly defined conditions. But not every clean room meets the same requirements.

The semiconductor industry in particular uses sophisticated manufacturing processes in which microprocessors, memory chips and other electronic components are produced under high-purity conditions. Even the smallest particles in the ambient air and built-in components can have a negative impact on electrical conductivity of the products. This is why all components and parts used in the manufacturing process must feature a high degree of purity.

High-purity butterfly valves undergo production, assembly, and packaging in a clean room, contributing to quality and safe production processes

Clean rooms in valve production

By operating a clean room, clearly defined procedures and parameters must be respected and measurements must be carried out on a regular basis by independent testing institutes. These measurements finally form the basis to classify the room’s cleanliness. Special cleanroom classifications are defined for cleanrooms such as those used in microelectronics and are specified in the standards of ISO 14644-1 and US FED 209D.

As a manufacturer of industrial valves, InterApp operates at its Swiss production site a cleanroom ISO Class 7 or US FED Class 10,000, respectively, meaning that according to ISO, a maximum of 352,000 particles of ≥ 0.5 µm per m³, or according to US FED 10,000 particles ≥ 0.5 µm per ft³ may be contained. Independent particle and TOC tests according to SEMI F40 and F57 carried out by Exyte Technology GmbH, specialist for clean room technologies and controlled environments, substantiates the high level of purity of Bianca butterfly valves.