From Applied Surface Technologies

The CO2 Snow Cleaning process removes micron and submicron particulates and hydrocarbon-based contamination. Carbon dioxide snow cleaning is nondestructive, nonabrasive, residue-free, and environmentally friendly - there is no chemical waste. The cleaning process is based upon the expansion of either liquid or gaseous carbon dioxide through an orifice. This expansion leads to the nucleation of small dry ice particles and a high velocity gas carrier stream. Upon impact with a dirty surface, the dry ice media removes particles by momentum transfer, even micron and submicron particulates, and hydrocarbons via a transient solvent or a freeze fracture mechanism. The high-velocity gas blows the contaminants away.

Carbon Dioxide Snow Cleaning can be used for either initial or final cleaning, and for numerous critical and noncritical cleaning applications in the semiconductor, disk drive, research, vacuum technologies, surface science, surface analysis, optical, medical, automotive, analytical instrument, and manufacturing communities.

Carbon Dioxide Snow Cleaning equipment comes in different styles to address your contamination removal problems.