Particle Counters

The particle counter is designed to measure the number of airborne and liquid-borne particles by their size, using the method of laser light-scattering.

Cleanliness of air, gas and liquid is very important for such industries as semiconductor, LCD, pharmaceuticals, food packaging, IAQ (indoor air quality), and biotechnology in general. Particle counters are essential tools in monitoring and maintaining the cleanliness of air, gas, and liquids in the above industries and areas. Their use contributes to increased reliability (yield) of products, manufacturing cost reduction, and improved environmental conditions for workers and processes.

Their superior performance, reliability, and easy functionality coupled with Rion's unique and innovative technology have built a worldwide reputation as the highest quality Particle Counters available.

Control of airborne particles
With the trend towards ever more compact, highly integrated, and high-performance products in the fields of electronics and mechatronics, the problem of contamination by minute particles in the air or in liquids is becoming a major consideration.

For example, during the manufacturing process of a 1-megabyte DRAM LSI chip, 0.1-micron size particles can critically impair the product, and now, with the focus shifting to 64 and 256 megabyte chips, even particles as small as 0.05 micron can cause unacceptable contamination.

Since particles floating in the air often carry bacteria, particle control is being increasingly necessary in pharmaceutics and foodstuff production as well.

In all of these areas of industry, clean rooms with carefully controlled particle levels are very important. Purity control is seen as vital for maintaining product quality and increasing yield in more and more fields of industry, thus contributing to the advancement of leading-edge technology.

Control of liquid-borne particles
Clean environmental control requirements originally were focused mainly on the absence of dust particles in the air. Recently, requirements have been extended to encompass all liquids that come into direct contact with the work and liquids used in wet processes, as well as to purity levels that exist in material gases and in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment itself. It is now common practice to monitor every liquid used in semiconductor manufacturing such as UPW (Ultra Pure De-Ionized Water), process chemicals (organic and in-organic), photo-chemicals, etchants, etc.

In the area of pharmaceutics where critical substances are being manufactured, the control of particles in liquid has always been an important consideration. USP <788>, JP, and EP regulations require strict contamination control for pharmaceutical injections and those same regulations are now being used as initial guidelines to bring cleanliness to all aspects of biotechnology and pharmaceutical products.

Aviation and space exploration, heavy machinery, and automobile manufacturing are other fields where particle control in hydraulic systems plays an important role. In these industries, Particle Counters help to prevent system failures in space, in flight, and in normal operation where hydraulic fluid contamination has long been known to be a problem.

Coupled with the impressive progress in electronics, mechatronics, and biotechnology, the quality of water, solvents and other chemicals used for cleaning, diluting, and chemical reactions is an essential consideration.

Even beyond the fields mentioned above, the realization is spreading that precise and reliable purity control is important for maintaining product quality and increasing yield. The emphasis in the industry is shifting from the old passive standard of "cleaning yes-measurement no" to the new principle "always measure both before and after cleaning."

With superior detection efficiency, Rion's laser liquid-borne particle counting system uses highly reliable, long life laser diodes, and technologically superior photo-detector & flow cell. All Rion systems are user friendly, versatile and simple operation for in-situ and batch modes. All systems are equipped with standard RS-232-C interface port for computer operation, and offer compatibility options for all liquids from water to strong acids. RION’s motto “The Scientific Pursuit of Human Ideals” is completely fulfilled with their line of high accuracy Particle Counters.