The investment at the Göttingen site reflects the growing customer requirements in the semiconductor business.
Göttingen / Wutöschingen, 17 July 2015 – Qioptiq (an Excelitas Technologies company since October 2013) specializes in the manufacture of optical components and systems. The high-tech production facility in Göttingen is the center of excellence within Excelitas in the field of semiconductor technology and is therefore of strategic importance to the company in the growing semiconductor market. Qioptiq expects further significant business growth in this segment over the next few years. The photonics company is continuously investing in the latest technologies in order to meet the ever-increasing demands of its customers in the future.
In order to be able to handle the increasing order volume to the usual standard and meet the required delivery times, Excelitas expanded its cleanroom production at the Qioptiq site in Göttingen at short notice at the beginning of 2015 to include another ISO class 6 facility with an area of 175 square meters. A new Cleanroom had already been put into operation at this site at the end of 2012. Qioptiq now has 430 square meters of cleanroom space available in Göttingen for the assembly of complex optical systems.
Qioptiq currently employs around 240 people in Göttingen. Excelitas and Qioptiq together employ around 5,500 people worldwide.
Cooperation with Schilling Engineering enables commissioning after just two months
The Göttingen-based company once again commissioned SCHILLING ENGINEERING GmbH, which specializes in cleanroom technology, to implement the technically sophisticated system. The short planning and construction time posed a particular challenge: The new Cleanroom was realized within just two months and put into operation at the end of March 2015. This meant that the first optics module could be delivered to the customer on schedule at the end of May 2015.
Dr. Robert Vollmers, Qioptiq Managing Director: “It was of the utmost importance for our customer to receive the product assembled in the new Cleanroom on time. Without the great commitment and high-quality work of the engineers from Schilling Engineering to qualify the clean room on time, this goal would not have been achievable. Our customer’s high level of trust in Qioptiq has thus been further strengthened.”
Sebastian Illert, Head of Operations at Qioptiq Göttingen, is convinced of the necessity of using the latest cleanroom technology: “We are very satisfied with the technology and functionality of the CleanCell cleanroom. With our new facility, we offer an extremely high level of precision manufacturing of optomechanical systems and modules. The cooperation with the experienced technicians of our cleanroom partner was also uncomplicated in this project and has brought us an excellent result. Schilling Engineering understands our high demands and implements them quickly and precisely.”
State-of-the-art cleanroom equipment meets the highest demands
The production and assembly of optomechanical components for integrated semiconductors requires a virtually particle-free environment and stable temperature and humidity. As the function of the highly sensitive components is impaired by even the smallest impurities, the production process takes place under controlled clean room conditions without exception.
The newly installed CleanCell© cleanroom system with a total area of 175 square meters guarantees cleanroom air quality of cleanroom class ISO 6. The system consists of three cleanrooms that are connected to each other with interlocking electric sliding doors. The assembly of the highly sensitive optomechanical components takes place in the largest room covering 85 square meters, while other rooms are used for testing and packaging and are equipped for special laser measurements. The personnel and components are fed into Cleanroom via separate personnel and material airlocks. As some components have a large volume and the special temperature- and moisture-stable packaging materials also take up a lot of space, the material airlock was designed with 12 square meters and equipped with wide roller doors. The special cleanroom doors are extremely airtight and keep air exchange and pressure drop to a minimum thanks to their particularly fast opening and closing.
The cleanroom system is equipped with high-performance ULPA class U15 filters. Directed air flows remove the smallest airborne particles from the working environment. An innovative recirculation and return air system within the cleanroom walls ensures precise cleanroom purging and has a high energy efficiency, as the already filtered and cooled air is fed back into the air exchange cycle. The wall and ceiling modules of the cleanroom are connected with a silicone-free sealing clip system. This guarantees an extremely high level of cleanroom tightness, low particle emission and offers the advantage of flexible expansion or dismantling options for the modular system.
Another order was placed for the use of the CleanroomCR Control® control system, which had already proven its worth in the existing facilities at the Göttingen site. Two interactive monitors of the control system are used to establish connections to the connected sensors that measure pressure, humidity and temperature, to filter modules, climate cabinets, door and light functions and other components. All important functions are monitored and can be individually controlled and regulated.