I. Purpose
The purpose of this test was to determine the effectiveness of the VALTRON® DP155 nonionic surfactant in the removal of particles from aluminum base plates and top covers. The effectiveness of this product will be compared to that of Triton X-100 nonionic surfactant.
II. Parameters of the Experiment
- Conditioning of the Substrates:
Five (5) aluminum disk drive base plates and 5 aluminum disk drive top covers were submitted for evaluation. No initial conditioning was performed.
- Ultrasonic Cleaning Equipment:
The ultrasonic system utilized for the cleaning experiment was manufactured by 5X Corporation. The ultrasonic transducers were manufactured by Branson Ultrasonics Corporation, Danbury, CT, USA.
III. The Experiment
-
The ultrasonic cleaning equipment was configured as shown in the table below.
| Frequency (kHz) |
40 |
68 |
68 |
68 |
68 |
400 |
-- |
| Time (sec) |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
800 |
| Temperature (°C) |
45 |
45 |
45 |
45 |
45 |
45 |
85 |
| Power (%) |
10 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
|
| Tank Size (Gallons) |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
35 |
|
Additional Details:
Power = Watts (1500 / Tank)
Rinse water filtered using 0.1 micron filtration
Dryer with Hepafilter @ 85°C for 800 seconds
-
Environment:
Class 10,000 Clean Room
Preparation of Detergent Solutions:
0.02% by volume of detergent was prepared.
Detergent baths were degassed for 5 minutes prior to cleaning.
Following cleaning of the base plates and top covers were submitted for Liquid Particle Count (LPC) Analysis
Particle Measurement
A LPC Analysis was conducted using Particle Counter Model # CLS-700 manufactured by Particle Measuring Systems.
The results are listed below:
IV. Results
| > 0.2 µm |
2,200,000 |
3,100,000 |
1,900,000 |
2,500,000 |
1,500,000 |
580,000 |
1,040,000 |
| > 0.3 µm |
850,000 |
850,000 |
710,000 |
780,000 |
820,000 |
250,000 |
535,000 |
| 0.5 µm |
180,000 |
200,000 |
170,000 |
185,000 |
260,000 |
75,000 |
167,500 |
| 1.0 µm |
24,000 |
27,000 |
16,000 |
21,500 |
4,900 |
6,000 |
5,450 |
| 2.0 µm |
3,000 |
3,000 |
1,400 |
2,200 |
280 |
1,000 |
640 |
| > 0.2 µm |
8,700,000 |
21,000,000 |
20,000,000 |
20,500,000 |
3,100,000 |
33,000,000 |
18,050,000 |
| > 0.3 µm |
2,700,000 |
7,000,000 |
6,900,000 |
6,950,000 |
1,200,000 |
11,000,000 |
6,100,000 |
| 0.5 µm |
600,000 |
1,600,000 |
1,500,000 |
1,550,000 |
270,000 |
2,500,000 |
1,385,000 |
| 1.0 µm |
82,000 |
240,000 |
210,000 |
225,000 |
38,000 |
310,000 |
174,000 |
| 2.0 µm |
7,900 |
18,000 |
35,000 |
26,500 |
3,000 |
37,000 |
20,000 |
V. Conclusion
In reviewing the LPC data, the particle counts of the top covers and base plates cleaned using the DP155 nonionic surfactant yielded reduced LPC counts. This data suggests the lower surface tension of the DP155 offers an improvement of the current industry standard used in top cover and base plate cleaning.
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DP155