The Effect of Relative Humidity on Particle Adhesion and Removal

The removal of small particles is vital for contamination-free manufacturing. In humid environments liquid can condense between the particle and substrate and give rise to a very large capillary force, which increases the total force of adhesion. The removal and adhesion forces of polystyrene latex (PSL) particles and pigmented coating chips were measured on silicon, polyethylene terephthalate, metallized and polyester coating substrates as a function of humidity. The results indicate that the capillary force is significant at a relative humidity above 50% and dominates at a relative humidity above 70%. At relative humidity below 45%, the electrostatic force becomes significant. The adhesion forces varied depending on the particles and substrates used, but the trend of high adhesion at high and low relative humidity was observed for all PSL particles/substrate systems. The pigmented coating chips/substrate system however, exhibited high adhesion at high relative humidity and low adhesion at low relative humidity.