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Fire detection systems for the Semiconductor industry

“A fire that occurred in a 465 m² (5,000 sq. ft) clean room was extinguished by a single sprinkler, but it took 74 days to clean up and resume operations.“

Fire Solutions

A fire in a fab clean room is extremely costly. The damage can be thermal (from flame/heat) and non-thermal (smoke contamination and corrosion). Non-thermal damage can be far greater than the thermal damage as clean rooms are critical to the manufacturing process and often are not duplicated. Even a small fire with relatively low physical damage can result in significant loss of production while the room is being decontaminated.

Reducing the risk by using very early warning smoke detection

A key component in an effective fire protection system for a clean room is very early warning smoke detection. Detecting smoke as early as possible minimizes contamination of the clean room and allows the most time to respond to a threat.

VESDA air sampling smoke detectors provide the very early warning that is critical in a clean room. They actively seek smoke by continuously sampling the air through a network of pipes, instead of waiting for the smoke to rise. This makes them extremely sensitive.

 

VESDA smoke detectors are installed in semiconductor fab plants around the world. They provide some key benefits in a clean room environment, including: 

• The active sampling of a VESDA detector provides the earliest possible detection of smoke
• Sample points can be placed where the smoke will travel e.g. along the path of the air flow in the room, ensuring that smoke reaches a detector without having to move to the ceiling 
• The detectors can be placed outside the clean room, allowing maintenance without entering the clean room, reducing the possibility of contamination 
• Sample points can be placed beside or inside equipment likely to be a fire source, ensuring that the first trace of smoke is detected.
• A VESDA system can be extended to include service corridors or sub-floor access areas, simply by running more sample pipe. 

Links Brochures In the Press Success stories Design guides White papers Presentations

Learn more VESDA smoke detection in Clean rooms This brochure describes the VESDA solution for semiconductor fab clean rooms.  Clean room Design Guide This  “How-to” guide (PDF) for engineers and designers, covers the details of designing a VESDA system for a clean room. You will need an access level other than 'Reg' to download this file. more How VESDA works View this short animation (Quicktime movie) showing how a VESDA smoke detection system works Early Warning Smoke Detection and Smoke Modeling in 300mm Flow-Through Fab Facilities This article, published in Future Fab magazine, focuses on how the selection of the right kind of life safety system can maximize the protection of property that may incur significant damage before life is ever endangered. Protecting your clean room from the threat of fire Article discussing how latest technologies can help prevent a fire from even starting in a clean room, let alone spreading. Published in Global Semiconductor magazine.

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