Two Confirmed COVID-19 Cases at Samsung Electronics... So Why No 'Shutdown'?

US Semiconductor Association Names Semiconductor Production Lines as Safe Facilities from COVID-19
Reasons for Near Zero Future Shutdowns Thanks to Cleanrooms
Cleanroom Interiors Circulate Air Through High-Performance Filters Comparable to Negative Pressure Wards

What Is the Secret Behind 'Semiconductor' Production Remaining Uninterrupted Despite COVID-19?

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Amid growing fears of shutdowns in domestic manufacturing production sites due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this year, the semiconductor production process, which is relatively safe from COVID-19, is receiving renewed attention. This is thanks to the 'cleanroom,' the space where semiconductors are created.

According to the industry on the 22nd, the Semiconductor Industry Association in the United States has identified semiconductor production lines as facilities safe from COVID-19. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also designated semiconductors as facilities that can operate without production stoppage even if quarantine situations due to COVID-19 occur.

In fact, although many COVID-19 cases have been confirmed at various Samsung Electronics business sites, the semiconductor production equipment has never stopped operating, and the industry consensus is that the possibility of a shutdown in the future is close to zero.

Semiconductors, a collection of ultra-fine technologies, apply processes at the nanometer scale, so even an extremely small amount of fine dust can cause semiconductor circuits to bend or break. Even dust or virus particles as small as 1㎛, invisible to the naked eye, can cause defects and affect product quality. This is why semiconductors are produced in cleanrooms?clean indoor spaces that maintain antibacterial, temperature-controlled, and humidity-controlled conditions 365 days a year.

Despite COVID-19, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor production lines remain in a clean state. One of the secrets to Samsung Electronics maintaining the world's best semiconductor manufacturing competitiveness is its unparalleled air conditioning system and cleanroom management capabilities. Cleanrooms are used worldwide as a standard not only in semiconductor plants but also in other industries such as hospital operating rooms and cosmetics and food companies.

Samsung Electronics maintains a clean cleanroom environment through an air conditioning system with multiple stages of filtering, starting with a windbreak forest that primarily filters dust blowing in from around the business site. By maintaining positive air pressure higher than outside the line, the structure allows air to flow only outward even when connected to the outside, making the possibility of dust and various viruses entering inside very low. The high-efficiency filters installed in the cleanroom can capture more than 99% of fine dust as small as 0.1㎛ and various viruses, making it almost impossible for viruses to enter or recirculate inside. Inside the cleanroom, air flows from top to bottom, circulating internal and external air through high-performance filters at a rate of over 400 times per hour, similar to negative pressure wards.

All workers on the line always wear dustproof suits, dustproof caps, dustproof gloves, dustproof shoes, and dustproof masks, and the air inside the line is purified through high-efficiency filters during circulation. Employees wear dustproof suits to prevent dust entry before entering the cleanroom and go through two air showers (each 30 seconds). Even when writing inside the cleanroom, they use specially made paper and pens.

On this day, two employees working on lines 16 and 17 in the H3 area producing memory semiconductors at Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong Campus tested positive for COVID-19, but the production line is operating normally. However, the places and cafeteria used by the confirmed cases were closed along with additional disinfection measures. Contact personnel were identified and instructed to self-isolate at home.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.