What is Cleanroom Airlock Room?

Airlock Room

  Cleanroom, as a highly purified environment, is widely applied across various industries. For those new to this field and acquainted to many new terms , understanding these industry-specific terms can greatly help them distinguish the classifications and functions of cleanrooms.

   Let's talk about one of the most common terms in cleanroom terminology – the airlock room.

1.What is an Airlock Room?

  Airlock is a system made of two doors that are interlocked so that they cannot be opened at the same time. It is usually designed between two clean areas with different class, or between a clean area and a unclean area.
  Its airlock room function is to act as a buffer room for maintaining air cleanliness and positive pressure control in the cleanroom, thereby preventing particles from entering the cleanroom during entry or exit. 
  Apart from contamination control, airlocks can also help maintain the controlled temperatures, with emergency button for safety.

2. Operating Procedures for Airlock Room

  The airlock room creates a controlled and enclosed space with two interlocking doors. The main purpose is to prevent pollution, maintain required clean class, and keep the cleanroom conditions according to regulations.

Standard procedures to follow for Airlock Room:
►Before use, check whether both doors are tight and whether the ultraviolet lamp is normal;
►Users may need to adhere to the specified protocols, such as putting on the cleanroom clothes, shoe covers.
►When personnel or materials enter the cleanroom, they should first enter the airlock room and close the inner side door. After they enter the airlock room, the outer side door should be closed; Throughout the process, the airlock is electronically interlocked to ensure that the inner and outer side doors cannot be opened at the same time.
►The airlock can be set up with access control, such as fingerprint recognition, face recognition, etc., for personal identity verification and authorization;

3. Alarm Functions in Airlock Room:

To guarantee the purity of the cleanroom environment and minimize contamination risks, extra alarms and monitoring systems can be installed in airlock rooms. Mainly include:
Violation Alarms: In accordance with the sensitivity and cleanliness requirements of the cleanroom, it may be essential to incorporate violation alarms within the airlock system. These alarms serve as a vital protection, alerting personnel when the airlock is breached and when unauthorized access or potential contamination is imminent.
►Door Open Duration Alarms: Opening doors too long will affect the clean class and other parameters. This alarm will remind the users to close the door in time and prevent prolonged exposure of the cleanroom to the external environment.
►Status Indicator Lights: Door status indicators, visual or digital display, provide real-time information on the airlock doors' condition. They offer a quick and easy way for personnel to verify if the door is securely closed.
►Pressure Differential Monitoring Alarms: By tracking the pressure differential across the airlock room, the operator can be alerted instantly if the clean zone is contaminated.
Airflow Visualization Monitoring: Employing smoke patterns, this method checks the flow pattern/direction at points of pressure attenuation across the airlock room, ensuring air flows from high-pressure (higher classification) to low-pressure (lower classification) areas. This ensures that the critical areas remain free from external contamination.

4. Application of airlock room:

   Cleanroom airlock is used for the entry and exit of personnel and the transfer of goods (materials, products, equipment) in the production area or in the inspection area of clean room. Therefore, airlock rooms normally serve as change room and the logistics buffer room.