Measuring Cleanliness

By Michael Moussourakis, Jeff Phillips, Stacy Silverstein, and Malcolm McLaughlin

Depending upon the method selected, cleanliness can be detected to varying degrees or levels. The first level can detect cleanliness to soil quantities as low as 0.01 grams per square centimeter (g/cm2); the next level detects soils of 0.01–0.001 g/cm², a level suitable for aerospace, electrical, automotive, and many surface preparation applications; and the most precise level detects soils less abundant that 1 mg/cm², which is suitable for use in semiconductor, disk drive, and medical device applications.

In this chapter of The Aqueous Cleaning Handbook, we learn about cleanliness detection, contact-angle measuring methods, the water drop surface energy test, and in-situ particle monitoring.