Power quality is a major issue for factories due to the sensitivity of equipment and process controls that are used in the manufacturing process. It is reported that voltage interruptions cost industry as much as one million dollars in revenue per day. Ice storms, floods, hurricanes, lightning, utility distribution equipment failures, or other systems anomalies cause such interruptions.

It was also found that the semiconductor industry is especially vulnerable to these voltage sags, which can cause equipment to shutdown, resulting in the loss of production and valuable product.

The SEMI F47 standard "Specification for Semiconductor Processing Equipment Voltage Sag Immunity" defines the limits that a semiconductor tool, facility, and utility system must operate within and not have any interruptions.

A sag or dip is a decrease in voltage or current. Voltage sags are usually associated with system faults, but can also be caused by the switching of heavy loads or the starting of motors. It should be noted that "sag of 20%" means that the line voltage is reduced to 20% of the normal value and not a reduction of 20% in the line voltage.

SEMI F47 defines the minimum voltage sag ride-through requirements for semiconductor processing, monitoring, and automated test equipment. Basically, it requires that semiconductor-processing equipment tolerate voltage sags on their AC power line. Specifically, they must tolerate sags to 50% for 200 msec, sags to 70% for up to 0.5 seconds, and sags to 80% for up to 1 second. In addition to these requirements SEMI F47 recommends that equipment tolerate sags to 0% for one cycle, sags to 80% for 10 seconds, and continuous sags to 90%.

IDEC's latest addition to the PS5R-S slim power supplies, the 120W and 240W models, fully comply with the SEMI F47 requirements. This compliance was independently verified by EPRI PEAC Corporation (www.f47testing.com) who is the worldwide leader in conducting voltage sag testing of semiconductor tools and equipment. In addition to their independent verification, IDEC is the first company to be granted the license to use the EPRI PEAC SEMI F47 "PQ Star" mark directly on the actual product.

In developing guidelines to address the performance and safety of semiconductor process equipment, SEMI S2 "Environmental, Health, and Safety Guideline for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment," was developed. It directly addresses the issue of safety including chemical, electrical and fire safety, software protocols, sound and radiation hazards, and ergonomics.

The SEMI S2 Guideline covers a large range of safety and health provisions, including regulatory requirements, electrical, mechanical, fire, chemical, radiation, noise, and ergonomics hazards; emergency shutdown, ventilation and exhaust specifications; hazard warnings and more.

The SEMI S2 standard falls into three broad categories. The first is the E Standards, which are concerned with environmental matters such as the facilities interface (HVAC, plumbing), handling of hazardous materials used in conjunction with the equipment, and resource conservation. The second category is the F Standards, which address fire hazards and fire protection. The third is the S Standards, which cover mechanical, electrical, and other operational hazards, such as acoustic noise levels, optics and laser intensities, and ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

U.S. buyers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment prefer and increasingly specify that such equipment undergo a comprehensive electrical safety, ergonomic and industrial hygiene evaluation in accordance with the SEMI S2 standard. SEMI S2 is likely to become the standard of choice in other industrialized countries around the world.

IDEC is pleased to announce that our HW Series E-Stops meet the SEMI S2 standards.