[labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

Wed May 13 13:13:21 EDT 2026

Look at Lighthouse partial counters.

Deon D. Collins

Director of Facilities

The Grainger College Of Engineering UIUC
Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab
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                                                                                      Propeck Amanda

________________________________
From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Paul.Weitnauer at sonydadc.com <Paul.Weitnauer at sonydadc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 5:31 AM
To: Sergi Lendinez <sergilendi at lsu.edu>; Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

Hi all,

We’re using the same very cheap particle sensors<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.adafruit.com/product/4632__;!!O7_YSHcmd9jp3hj_4dEAcyQ!wquIoT7fitQJgL8WUUvYpQTUhW1WS3eJSY737geH720YLE57qXyReEyjj8ccctWXj9HiQqW49mLmDTB_tXn9CLmnlQ$> inspired by luftdaten.info – Feinstaub selber messen – Open Data und Citizen Science aus Stuttgart<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://luftdaten.info/__;!!DZ3fjg!-0m_y17TyhEBUjqVbNvroYl2iHrelDurDGMhVS43llQnIuCesmezqU0G4kfrMOVvqWb6cRjgdYorzymQgL5uLDP4nmYT4_c$> in combination with offline measurements using a portable calibrated Particle Monitor.

Monitoring is done via Raspberry Pi + InfluxDB + Grafana. Very useful combination for tracking other environmental variables, CA pressure, …

Best regards,

Paul

Paul Weitnauer | Manager Mastering Engineering |
Sony DADC Europe GmbH | Sonystrasse 4 | 5303 Thalgau, Salzburg | Austria
Phone: +43 6246 880 8567 | mobile: + 43 664 82 53 165 | paul.weitnauer at sonydadc.com
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Von: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> Im Auftrag von Sergi Lendinez
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 25. März 2026 16:03
An: Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Betreff: Re: [labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

We have very cheap particle sensors<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.adafruit.com/product/4632__;!!O7_YSHcmd9jp3hj_4dEAcyQ!wquIoT7fitQJgL8WUUvYpQTUhW1WS3eJSY737geH720YLE57qXyReEyjj8ccctWXj9HiQqW49mLmDTB_tXn9CLmnlQ$> to monitor unusual high particle values via NEMO. They are good enough at detecting malfunctioning ACH or deteriorated filters at a fraction of the cost of other particle monitors. I wouldn't use them to know if the spaces meet certification or to know actual particle counts, but they are good to detect anomalies quickly.

Regards,

Sergi

________________________________

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Nicholas Menounos <menounos at mit.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 5:50 PM
To: Carroll, David <carroldl at wfu.edu>; Nathan Aultman <naultman at creol.ucf.edu>
Cc: Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

With all the positive experiences, I am starting to feel some FOMO.

At nano we have not found them to be particularly useful and a maintenance headache (we have 2 per bay, ~30 total, one is always broken). Moving them during tool installs is a chore (vac tubing/new cables runs/fussy connectors) and the vac pumps consume non-trivial energy.

We use the MET One 6015 (0.5 micron). In our Class 100/ISO5 laminar flow areas, they very rarely read above zero unless we lose space pressurization, which is already caught by our DP sensors anyway. Because the capture window against the wall and below the HEPA is quite small, they just don't pick up much, though we do occasionally get readings in the Class 10k/ISO7 spaces.

Our original Basis of Design called for particle-counter-driven ACH, but we quickly replaced that with occupancy sensors. They are highly reliable at detecting the actual source of particles (people), act proactively, and have a much wider field of view.

Nick Menounos, PE

MIT.nano - Associate Director of Infrastructure

Cell: (508) 932-0938<tel:+15089320938>

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> On Behalf Of Carroll, David
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 12:13 PM
To: Nathan Aultman <naultman at creol.ucf.edu>
Cc: Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

Hi Dr. Dixon,

We too use the MetOne GT system and it has been a excellent device for us.

Dave

Wake Forest University

On Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 12:09 PM Nathan Aultman <naultman at creol.ucf.edu<mailto:naultman at creol.ucf.edu>> wrote:

Dr. Dixon,

We use a MetOne GT-321.  It is one of their older models.  https://metone.com/product-categories/controlled-environments-clean-rooms/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/metone.com/product-categories/controlled-environments-clean-rooms/__;!!O7_YSHcmd9jp3hj_4dEAcyQ!wquIoT7fitQJgL8WUUvYpQTUhW1WS3eJSY737geH720YLE57qXyReEyjj8ccctWXj9HiQqW49mLmDTB_tXleS9VIRg$>

Nathan C. Aultman

University of Central Florida

407-823-6852

naultman at creol.ucf.edu<mailto:naultman at creol.ucf.edu>

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> On Behalf Of Alex Dixon
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2026 4:22 PM
To: Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>>
Subject: [labnetwork] Cleanroom Particle Monitors

Hi Everyone, I was wondering what people use for particle measurement systems in their cleanrooms? We are trying to add active particle monitoring to our cleanroom facilities. I was looking at the lasair pro from "Particle Measuring Systems" https://www.pmeasuring.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.pmeasuring.com/__;!!O7_YSHcmd9jp3hj_4dEAcyQ!wquIoT7fitQJgL8WUUvYpQTUhW1WS3eJSY737geH720YLE57qXyReEyjj8ccctWXj9HiQqW49mLmDTB_tXlL5nBvpg$> but university procurement is asking me to put together some other options.

-Alex

__________________________________________________________

Alex Dixon, Ph.D. (He/Him)

Lab Manager

Nanofabrication and Thin Film Deposition

Shared Instrument Facility

Colorado School of Mines

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Nano and Quantum Technologies Laboratory

Wake Forest University

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