×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

sterilization of circuits

sterilization of circuits

sterilization of circuits

(OP)
Hi,

I'm currently doing a project which involves sterilization of circuitry.
How are circuits normally sterilized?
Can anyone provide met with more info.

Thx in advance,

Jay

RE: sterilization of circuits

search for "chemical sterilization"

<nbucska@pcperipherals DOT com> subj: eng-tips
read FAQ240-1032

RE: sterilization of circuits

(OP)
Hmm sorry uh I know the steps,

but what I mean is how are the circuitry normally protected when they need to be sterilized? special material coating or something like that?

Jay

RE: sterilization of circuits

Depends on the process used.  

There are environmental, conformal coatings that are often used such as parylene

TTFN

RE: sterilization of circuits

There are three standard techniques for sterilizing
stuff.

1) Radiation, generally using Cobalt 60 which generates major ionizing radiation that would probably injure some ICs.  This also heats the product up.  Product coming out of a CO60 sterilizer is generally very warm.

2) Autoclaving:  Essentially a pressure cooker.  While IC's are relatively well protected from water these days a pressurized steam environment WILL drive H2O into ICs. Which definitely will wreck them.

3) ETO: Ethylene Oxide.  Which is considered a cold sterilizing procedure, though it isn't "cold" ~110F. ETO will attack circuit board substrate but slowly.
The general process is to package the "to be" sterilized product in a gas permeable bag that gas can go through but viruses cannot.  This allows easy handling after sterilization.

So if you really need sterilized circuits you will probably need to look into the ETO process.  There are many ETO contract sterilizers out there.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources