Gowning Room Procedures

Overview

This document describes the procedures for entering and exiting the cleanroom, including the gowning protocol. These procedures are designed to minimize the potential for transferring and generating particulate matter, which could adversely affect the lab.

Qualification Checklist

All SNF labmembers must demonstrate or describe the following:

The correct sequence for donning and removing a bunnysuit.
Items required for full cleanroom attire.
How to store a bunnysuit.
How to bring working materials (wafer boxes, masks, etc.) into the lab.
Recognizing what comprises acceptable versus unacceptable working materials.

Procedures

Gowning:

Before entering the gowning room

Make sure you are wearing appropriate attire:
- Shoes should fully enclose the feet (no sandals, open toe, or sling-back shoes)
- Remove outer clothing (i.e., jackets, fuzzy sweaters).
Visit the washroom: tie hair up, wash hands, and take a drink of water.
Make sure you have everything you need with you to work in the lab and that it is all cleanroom-compatible (see section 3.4).
Don blue shoe covers.
Log into Coral.

On entering the gowning room

Put on a paper "bouffant" cap. Make sure all your hair is covered (check in the mirror).
Put on latex (or vinyl) gloves. Try not to touch the outside of the gloves with your bare hands.
Obtain a bunnysuit. Personal suits are stored by assigned hanger number (refer to the SNF website). New suits are available in the gowning room.
Don the bunnysuit, working from your head down to your feet, in the following order:

Hood. Snap under the neck.
Suit. Hold the sleeves and body up to keep them from touching the floor.
Booties.

Tuck the hood into the neck of the suit.
Fasten snaps at the neck and wrists.
Tuck suit legs into the tops of the booties.
Fasten bootie snaps and clips.
Put on lab glasses.
Check yourself in the mirror. Make sure everything is tucked in, zipped up, and snapped.
Ensure that the materials you are bringing in to the lab are cleanroom-compatible (see section 3.4).
If you have brought in materials that have been previously bagged in the cleanroom, remove the bag in the gowning room. Dispose of the used bags in the trash.
If you have brought in new materials (not been previously bagged in the cleanroom), take them to the wipedown station in the gowning room. Use an alcohol wipe and cleanroom wipes to wipe any dust or debris from all surfaces. Use the cleanroom vacuum to remove dust from surfaces that cannot be easily wiped.
Where possible, label your materials with your name and Coral login. Boxes containing wafers and tweezer boxes must be labeled. A Dymo label maker is available in the gowning room.
Change your cleanroom suit every two weeks or more often if needed.

In the cleanroom

Before working with wafers, put on vinyl gloves over the latex (or vinyl) gloves. Change vinyl gloves frequently: 1. whenever getting ready to handle, transfer, or inspect wafers; 2. whenever any contamination is suspected. Vinyl gloves are available in the gowning room and throughout the lab.

Rules and Guidelines for Personal Lab Behavior

Drinking, eating and gum-chewing are not allowed in any part of the lab.
Full cleanroom attire must always be worn while in the cleanroom.
Safety glasses must always be worn in the lab, although may be removed for microscope viewing.
Be discrete in coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose. If you can, go into the service area or gowning room. At the very least, turn away from the processing area and change your vinyl gloves before commencing processing.
Minimize the amount of materials stored in the lab. All personal items must be labeled with your full name, login name, and contact phone number. Storage inside the lab is limited to personal storage bins. Ample storage is available outside the lab. Contact access@snf for more information about storage.

Leaving the lab

Clean up after yourself. Leave stations neat and ready for the next person to use. Remove personal items from general-use areas after you are done processing.
Any materials you plan on taking out of the lab with you should be bagged to prevent contamination. Zip-loc bags are available in the Litho area. A vacuum sealer and sealer bags are available at the wipedown station in the gowning room.
In the gowning room: remove your bunnysuit from the bottom, up, in the reverse order:

Hang your bunnysuit in alphabetical order of your Coral login.
Log out of Coral, as you leave the gowning room area.

Acceptable Materials in the Cleanroom

Described here is a general list of criteria of cleanroom- and non-cleanroom-compatible materials. These guidelines are subordinate to the "Acceptable Materials" policy.

The following materials are generally acceptable to bring into the cleanroom:

Cleanroom notebooks and cleanroom paper (available in Stores.)
Wafers and tweezers, in labeled boxes.
Pens (preferably, ball-point).
Materials with smooth, hard surfaces, which can be cleaned with alcohol wipes.

The following materials are not considered cleanroom-compatible:

Wood pulp-based paper products, which includes regular paper, tissues, cardboard, books, and magazines.
Styrofoam products.
Any powders.
Erasers, pencils, felt-tipped pens (other than Sharpie markers).
Anything that can easily shred or aerosolizes; i.e., anything that may serve as a source of particles.

Routine Maintenance

Bunnysuits should be changed on a biweekly or as-needed basis.

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Stanford Nanofabrication Facility
Last Modified 08/29/2003