Cleanroom are designed to meet varying cleanroom cleanliness requirements, such as Class 100, Class 1000, Class 10,000, Class 100,000, Class 300,000, and even higher. This is why FFU have emerged as a valuable solution to these challenges.
FFU can effectively address challenges in cleanroom. The key advantages are as follows:
1. Space Savings – FFU can save space and address the limited maintenance access above cleanroom ceilings.
Because high-quality cleanroom require Class 100 or even Class 10 laminar flow hoods to meet process requirements, large supply air plenums are installed above the cleanroom ceilings. These plenums, along with the supply and return air ducts, take up significant space, limiting maintenance access and sometimes even restricting access to fire escapes.
When using FFU, the cleanroom ceiling is divided into several modules, each of which serves as an FFU. This allows for adjustments to meet the pressure balance requirements of the supply air plenum above the ceiling, significantly reducing the required plenum height. This also eliminates the need for large supply and return air ducts, saving installation space. FFU are particularly effective when floor height restrictions are imposed during renovation projects. Furthermore, FFUs are available in a variety of sizes and can be customized to the exact size of the cleanroom. As a result, they occupy less floor height within the supply air plenum, or even virtually no space within the cleanroom, further conserving space.
2. FFU Flexibility – The FFU's independent design allows for immediate adjustments, compensating for the lack of cleanroom flexibility and addressing the inherent limitations of production process adjustments.
Cleanroom structures are typically constructed of metallic panels, and their layout cannot be altered after construction. However, due to constant changes in production processes, the existing cleanroom layout can no longer meet new process requirements. This leads to frequent cleanroom modifications for product upgrades, resulting in significant financial and material waste.
By increasing or decreasing the number of FFU, the cleanroom layout can be locally adjusted to accommodate process changes. Furthermore, FFU have their own power supply, air vents, and lighting, saving significant investment. This is virtually impossible to achieve with conventional centralized air purification systems.
Because FFU are self-powered, they are not restricted by location. Within a large cleanroom, they can be controlled in zones as needed. Furthermore, as semiconductor production processes evolve, the layout inevitably needs to be adjusted accordingly. The flexibility of FFU makes such adjustments easy and eliminates the need for secondary investment.
3. Reduced Operational Burden - FFU systems are energy-efficient, eliminating the drawbacks of centralized air supply systems, which often require bulky air conditioning rooms and high operating costs for air conditioning units.
If individual cleanroom within a larger cleanroom building require a higher cleanliness level, centralized air supply units with high air volumes and fan pressures are required to overcome resistance in the ductwork and the resistance of the primary, medium, and high-efficiency filters to meet the required cleanliness level. Furthermore, a single air conditioner failure in a centralized air supply system would halt operation in all cleanroom served by that unit.
Although the initial investment in FFU is higher than that of ducted ventilation, their outstanding energy-saving and maintenance-free features make FFU more popular.
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