1. Cleanroom Safety Training
May 2009
Cleanroom Safety Training
2nd Edition, NR

2. All users must first complete the annual safety training offered through the WUSTL Environmental Health and Safety department.

3. Areas of the Cleanroom Entry Wipe Down Class 1,000 Bay Entry Vestibule
Gowning
Class 100 Bay
Shower &
Eye Wash Station
Main Entrance/Exit
Emergency Exit
First Aid Kit

4. Personal Safety
• Eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lenses and applying cosmetics is strictly prohibited in areas where hazardous laboratory chemical or biological materials are used or are intended for use.
• Storage of food and beverage in containers or in areas that are intended or are used for storage of hazardous laboratory materials is prohibited.

5. Off-hours Use
Operation of equipment or completion of any process off-hours requires a MINIMUM of 2 authorized users in the cleanroom at all times.
20 hours of daytime use and an additional training are required for off-hours instrument and cleanroom use.
No Hydrofluoric Acid use off-hours.

6. User’s Chemicals and Samples
“NEW” chemicals must first be approved by Staff. Confirm there is a MSDS for the chemical you wish to bring in. You are responsible for providing an MSDS if there is not a copy in the MSDS notebook.
All chemicals and samples brought into the lab must be clearly labeled with user name, group name, contact info, chemical name and the date.
Unlabeled chemicals and samples are subject to disposal.
Liquid-filled containers in fume hood must be labeled with contents, user name, PI, expected time of disposal and phone number. The maximum time for unattended chemicals is 12 hours.

7. Allowed & Prohibited Items
Cleanroom notebooks are required for taking notes in the cleanroom. Cleanroom paper will be available for notes. All approved items that are brought into the cleanroom must be wiped down to remove dust particles and oil.
Prohibited
Allowed
Cardboard and paper
Plastic items
Pencils
Cleanroom paper and notebooks
Cloth items
Pens
Hats and coats
Synthetic fabrics(polyester, nylon)
Paper items sealed in plastic

8. Standard laboratory dress code applies under all cleanroom attire.
Cleanroom Gowning
Standard laboratory dress code applies under all cleanroom attire.

9. Cleanroom Gowning
Users may store personal items in one of the lockers outside of the gowning area. Frequent users will receive there own locker to share with their group.

10. Cleanroom Gowning
• Each user receives a hood, a garment, and a pair of cleanroom boots to be worn in the class 1,000 and class 100 bays.
Class 10,000 bay users only need shoe covers, a hairnet and lab coat.

11. Class 1000/100 NRF Gowning Process
Put your name, instrument used, gases and chemicals used on the dry erase board.
Sign into the FOM system and log into the instrument.

12. Class 1000/100 NRF Gowning Process
Clean shoes with motorized shoe cleaner.
Put on shoe covers and hair net.
Swipe card key and enter cleanroom.

13. Class 1000/100 NRF Gowning Process
Place all items on the wipe down table and put on a pair of gloves.
Using the spray bottle, moisten a cleanroom wipe with the water/isopropanol solution and wipe down all the items being brought into the cleanroom.

14. Class 1000/100 NRF Gowning Process
Put on the cleanroom hood and snap the hood under the chin.
Put on the cleanroom suit being careful not to drag the suit on the floor in the process. Tuck the bottom of the hood into the suit, zip it up and snap the top snap.
Put on two boots and be sure to snap them on the back of the legs.

15. Class 1000/100 NRF Gowning Process
When exiting the cleanroom, simply reverse the steps, placing the coverall and hood on a hanger and the boots in the storage rack. Gloves can be placed in the trash and shoes covers and hairnets can be placed in locker for later use.
Once in the cleanroom, your suit should not be opened or unzipped. Return to gowning room to retrieve items from within suit. Anything that a user needs access to while in the cleanroom(cell phones, electronics, ect) should be taken out while in the gowning room and wiped down.

16. All cleanroom waste must be properly disposed.
Hazardous Waste
All cleanroom waste must be properly disposed.

17. Hazardous Waste Containers
Solvent Waste
Acid Waste
(HF, HCL, ect)
Photolithography
Solid Waste
Class
10,000 Bay
Class 100 Bay
1,000 Bay
Entry
Vestibule
Wipe
Down
Gowning

18. General Waste Container
Class
10,000 Bay
Class 100 Bay
1,000 Bay
Entry
Vestibule
Wipe
Down
Gowning
All non chemical waste.

19. Cleanliness
As an open facility we rely on users to clean up after themselves. Maintaining cleanroom cleanliness is a matter of courtesy and safety.

20. While Working in the Fume Hoods
Do not leave funnels in waste containers
No containers are to be left in the sinks
Hazardous materials should be at least 6 inches behind the sash of the fume hood

21. While Working in the Fume Hoods
• All manipulation (transferring containers, pipetting, etc…) of chemicals should take place in a fume hood.

22. While Working in the Fume Hoods
Clean photo resist spinners after each use
Wipe up any spills immediately.
If a hazardous chemical spill occurs outside of a fume hood, you should evacuate the lab immediately and notify NRF staff and University Police(5-5555).

23. Cleanliness Be considerate of others and clean up after yourself.
Please leave amenities in the cleanroom as clean or cleaner than you found it.

24. Hydrofluoric Acid
Hydrofluoric acid can pose significant health risk and should be handled cautiously. Special training is required to use HF and it should never be used while alone.

25. Hydrofluoric Acid Safety
Hydrofluoric acid (HF) presents a significant health hazard!
HF is used in the cleanroom in both its pure and dilute form.
HF is the active component in Buffered Oxide Etch (BOE)
Used to etch silicon dioxide and for stripping native oxide prior to processing.
Both liquid and vapor can cause severe burns, which may not be immediately painful or visible.
HF will penetrate skin and attack underlying tissues, including bone.

26. Hydrofluoric Acid Exposure
Exposure to HF requires medical attention.
If exposure to HF occurs, remove yourself and victim from contaminated area. Immediately wash burned area with water for at least 5 minutes and apply 2.5% calcium gluconate gel.
Calcium gluconate is a topical antidote that should be applied liberally after any HF exposure.
Calcium gluconate can be found in the cleanroom first aid kit.
Always follow proper notification protocol and report accidents and emergency situations to NRF staff.

27. Hydrofluoric Acid Use
HF etches glass thus it must not be kept in a glass bottle or used in a glass beaker.
Regardless of concentration of HF, it may NOT be disposed of down the drain.
HF must be used only in the HF designated area in the acid fume hood. It may not be removed in a beaker from the hood.
Full face shield, acid apron, neoprene outer gloves and nitrile inner gloves are required when using HF or BOE.

28. Consumable cost will be passed on to users.
Consumables
Consumable cost will be passed on to users.

29. Consumables Available Chemicals Solvents Developers Acetone AZ 327 MIF
Isopropanol (IPA)
SU-8 Developer
Methanol
PG Remover
Ethanol
MF Developer
Photoresists
Acids SU
Transene(H3PO4 & HNO3) SU
Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)
SU-8 2
Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)
PMMA
Buffered Oxide Etch (BOE)
AZ 5214 E

30. Available Materials Open Use Upon Request Cleanroom Wipes Gold Pellets
Plastic Pipettes
Silver Shot
Petri Dishes
Aluminum Pellets
Aluminum Foil
Copper Pellets
Chromium Pieces
Titanium Pellets
2”, 3”, 4” Si Wafers
3” x 1” Glass Slides
Material prices are passed on to users and are subject to change.

31. Cleanroom Gases
BCl3 O2
HBr Ar
NF3 He
Cl2 N2
SF6
CH4 H2

32. Alarms
A variety of reactive gases are used in the cleanroom and an alarm system monitors these chemicals using sensors throughout the cleanroom.

33. Alarm Protocols Yellow Alert
In the event of a YELLOW alarm all personnel in the cleanroom should exit via the gowning area and IMMEDIATELY notify NRF Staff.

34. Alarm Protocols Red Alarm
In the event of a RED alarm all personnel in the cleanroom should IMMEDIATELY exit via the doors to the hallway and notify NRF Staff. DO NOT exit through the gowning area or the service chase.
In the event of a RED alarm ALL PERSONNEL should exit the basement until NRF Staff has confirmed that the area is safe.
If you believe someone has collapsed in the cleanroom area DO NOT attempt to retrieve them! Call and request a Hazmat team.
DO NOT attempt to diagnose an alarm condition or turn off an alarm on your own. Always wait for NRF Staff to respond to the situation.

36. Citation Requirement
The NRF is supported by the National Science Foundation through the Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. It is important for users to properly cite the support of facilities of the NRF in all publications and presentations made possible by work performed at the NRF.
For papers, a suggested acknowledgement reads: “This work was performed in part at the Washington University in St. Louis Nano Research Facility, a member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant ECS ).”

37. Before your safety training is completed you need to:
Take Our Safety Training Quiz:
Take a Cleanroom Tour
Have a Follow-up Cleanroom Safety Training with a NRF Staff Member