From 0 to 100 and back – this is how the hype around nanotechnology in Germany can be described. While the new materials are still being intensively researched in Asian countries, the nano-euphoria in Germany is waning. The reason for this is the lack of scaling procedures to translate the nanosca…

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA is also focusing this year on topics aligned with the
main themes of the AMB, the International Exhibition for Metalworking: The Stuttgart-based scientists will provide insights into the
development and application status of Industr…

In a constantly aging society, medical technology products are becoming increasingly important. The highest quality requirements are necessary in their production to guarantee their durability, reliability, and safety for the user, thereby not exposing the generally weakened patients to unnecessary…

In an increasingly aging society, medical technology products are gaining more and more importance. The highest quality and purity requirements are necessary in their manufacturing. But purity goes far beyond the question of hygiene. On July 3, 2014, purity experts will meet at the Fraunhofer Instit…

The purity technology production is regarded as a cross-industry core technology. A multitude of manufacturing steps for high-tech products such as semiconductor processors, artificial skin cell cultivation, manufacturing equipment for medical technology products, and in-vitro diagnostics systems ar…

"Desire for Performance" once described as his life principle. Many saw him as a strategist, reformer, and visionary alike, who significantly shaped and actively contributed to the applied scientific zeitgeist. On April 4th, approximately 400 invited guests honored the work of the former President o…

The Germany based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and the Romanian based company Microelectronica S.A. solemly opened a Cleanliness Competence Center in Bucharest. This center, co-funded by the European Commission, combines LED research work and production lines…

The automotive and supplier industry has been "at the gates of cleanroom technology" for many years when it comes to the assembly of particle-sensitive components. With today's cleanliness limit values of usually a few hundred micrometers, it occupies, from the perspective of cleanliness technology…

Thanks to a cleanliness concept that is unique throughout the world, since mid-September 2013 the newly-designed laboratory tract CleanLab has extended the Fraunhofer IPA range of services regarding cleanliness and the evaluation of the cleanability of components, surfaces and liquids. In the course…

1. Requirements of particulate cleanliness

The need for high levels of particulate cleanliness is obvious for some products such as integrated circuits (with structural widths currently as low as 22 nm) that are manufactured in the semiconductor industry. However, particulate cleanliness, i.e. the ab…