Flooring

Essential criteria for flooring in semiconductor fabs are durability, ease of maintenance, and static electricity control, ensuring that the flooring can withstand heavy foot traffic and equipment movement. A seamless, non-porous surface supports hygiene and contamination control, while slip resistance enhances worker safety.

Flooring Criteria for Utility Areas

In such facilities, key areas to consider include cooling towers and fan decks, sub-FABs, gas pads, loading and waste zones, chemical containment areas, trenches and floor drains and mechanical/plant rooms.

The typical risks in these rooms include abrasions from forklift and pallet traffic, point impacts, thermal shock, frequent wet cleaning with powerful chemicals, chemical spills and many more.

Main criteria for utility areas:

• Durability
• Impact resistance
• Chemical resistance
• Thermal shock resistance
• Slip resistance
• Seamless
• Airborne molecular
contamination control

Flooring Criteria for Cleanrooms

Cleanrooms are a core component of fabs and demand rigorous air quality control. Key risks include stringent contamination thresholds, ESD sensitivity, chemical cleaning requirements,
CMP slurry staining, AMC limitations, and frequent solvent use such as IPA wipes. Flooring systems in these spaces must have very low VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions and be exceptionally robust and engineered to withstand chemical exposure, prevent particle generation, and provide reliable static control to protect sensitive electronic components.

Furthermore, maintenance protocols and material compatibility are critical to maintaining optimal cleanroom performance over time.

Main criteria for cleanrooms:

• Particle control and cleanability
• ESD control
• Airborne molecular contamination control
• Flatness and seamless
• Chemical resistance
• Gloss and visual
• Low VOC emissions