Cleanroom Sizes
A simple guide to understanding the sizes used in the BYU cleanroom
How small is...
a centimeter?
Definition: Centi means 1 part in 100. Therefore, there are 100 centimeters in a meter.
Notation: cm
Comparison: A centimeter of hair similar to the one shown below, laid out side by side, could contain more than 116 strands.
a millimeter?
Definition: A millimeter is 1/1,000 of a meter.
Notation: mm
Comparison: If you laid out 1,000 strands of hair similar to the one shown below, side to side, the width would be 86 millimeters.
micro?
Definition: Micro is a prefix meaning one-millionth or 10-6 units. There are 1,000,000 micrometers (or microns) in a meter.
Notation: µm
Comparison: A strand of hair can be anywhere from 20 µm (microns) to200 µm in diameter.
nano?
Definition: Nano is a prefix meaning one-billionth, or 10-9,or 1/1,000,000,000!
Notation: nm
Comparison: This strand of hair is approximately 150,000 nm (nanometers) wide. If you were three nanometers tall, a cross section of this strand could look like the Grand Canyon.
an Angstrom?
Definition: An Angstrom is 1x10-10meters, and can be used to measure atomic sizes.
Notation: Å
Comparison: This strand of hair is about 1,500,000 Å in diameter.
When is...
a centimeter used?
The common use of the centimeter is to refer to a wafer size. Our most commonly used wafer is 10.16 cm in diameter
a millimeter used?
The wrenches used in the cleanroom to maintain the equipment are in the millimeter range.
a micron used?
Our "large" measurements are usually in microns. Typical hair diameter: 86 microns Common oxide thickness: 1.5 microns
a nanometer used?
More refined measurements in the cleanroom are on the nano scale.
an Angstrom used?
This measurement is not commonly used in the cleanroom.
 A strand of student hair magnified 10 times. *Width is approximately 86 µm
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