Description
[07/2019]
The risk of particle contamination in the electronics industry and corresponding countermeasures
The term technical cleanliness is most strongly associated with the automotive industry, but cleanliness testing in accordance with inspection standard VDA 19 is also used in other sectors such as
hydraulics, mechanical engineering and medical technology. While frequently neglected, particle contamination is also being increasingly associated with PCBs in the electronics industry. The increasingly smaller gaps between contacts and higher power densities mean that the risk of failure can drastically skyrocket in the presence of even just a small quantity of particles, which means that customers’ expectations and demands concerning electronics products have risen yet further. The following article provides an overview of the risk of particles on electronic PCBs, how they are measured and existing standards as well as presenting a cleaning method for reducing particle loads.
Michael Kövi
Senior Process Engineer, ZESTRON EUROPE
After finishing his studies on environmental sciences and process engineering at the University of Bayreuth, Germany, Michael Kövi started working as a process engineer at ZESTRON Europe in 2013. In the Application Technology department he advises and services customers from all over Europe with regards to the installation and control of cleaning processes in the context of electronics production. After his promotion to Senior Process Engineer in late 2018, he moreover is Zestrons expert for Technical cleanliness and is sharing his knowledge as a presenter in the Zestron Academy. 
