All Case Studies

AMC Cleanroom Monitoring

Airborne molecular contamination (AMC) is a concern for high-tech manufacturing processes. PTR-MS can monitor these contaminations continuously and in real-time.

Semiconductor industry – Cleanroom AMC monitoring

Airborne molecular contamination (AMC) is a major concern in high-tech manufacturing processes, particularly in microelectronics and semiconductor production. Organic contaminants can damage equipment, reduce product yield, and increase operational costs. Contamination-free manufacturing requires source control and continuous monitoring alongside air filtration at both the facility and tool levels. Permanent monitoring identifies contamination sources, stabilizes production, and prevents unexpected reductions in the service life of filtration units.

IONICON provides ultra-sensitive, real-time trace gas monitoring tools designed to detect organic contamination and continuously monitor cleanroom environments and production equipment.

Results of PTR-MS Cleanroom Environment Testing

PTR-MS has the ability to continuously monitor for AMC with real-time detection limits as low as 1 pptv.
The level of AMC contamination in cleanroom environments is predominately created by internal sources such as spills or leaks of solvents, acetic acid, re-entrainment of exhaust air, aromatic compounds from ambient air and return air as well as material outgassing or even the FOUPs that are used for wafer transport. Organic contamination can cause substantial costs in terms of wafer damage or loss and tool down-time.

PTR-MS can monitor production-critical compounds like phosphates, phthalates and other VOCs. Incidents that can cause production failures and yield losses can immediately be detected online. Corrective actions can be taken to optimize the processes.

Automatic Monitoring Systems – AMCentinel

Building on the AMC-Monitor 1000 series, the AMCentinel utilizes IONICON PTR-TOFMS time-of-flight technology. This analyzer monitors volatile organic and select inorganic compounds in parallel at pptv-level limits, outperforming traditional quadrupole-based systems:

Rapid detection across the full range of relevant substances without mass selection
High sensitivity for complex chemical mixtures
High mass resolution for precise compound separation and identification
pptv-level limits of detection

Continuous 24/7 monitoring catches short-term spills, tracks trends, and triggers alerts when concentrations exceed thresholds. Multi-point sampling enables parallel monitoring of cleanroom air, FOUPs, and tool-level environments. Paired with IONICON’s AME software, the system delivers automated data evaluation and adapts to custom applications through recipe loading.