Operations have resumed in the Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room

The Clean Room at the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM), part of the CSIC and located on the UAB campus, is resuming normal operations today. Yesterday, the facility activated its emergency protocol to evacuate the building due to a leak from a waste container. The safety mechanisms functioned as intended, and no one was injured.

The incident occurred shortly after noon in a specific area of the Clean Room. Immediately, the gas and fire detection systems sounded the alarm and triggered the evacuation protocol for the scientific-technical facility, which was carried out within minutes; the 200 people present in the adjacent office building were also evacuated for safety reasons. Meanwhile, a team of firefighters from the Catalan government arrived and entered the room to identify and neutralize the source of the accident. At this time, that section of the room remains closed.

The evacuation proceeded without incident; the firefighters acted swiftly to remove the chemical that caused the incident, and no fire needed to be extinguished. Additionally, emergency medical personnel attended to the people who had been in the affected area, confirming that they were in good health.

The IMB-CNM would like to express its gratitude to the fire department crews for their rapid response, as well as to the medical and security personnel who arrived at the institute. It also wishes to acknowledge and highlight the exemplary conduct of all IMB-CNM staff, who reacted appropriately at all times; and, in particular, that of the Clean Room staff, whose diligence in activating the first alarm, maintaining calm, and managing the situation proved essential.

"The impact has been minimal, and today the Clean Room is once again operational for daily work, except for the area where the incident originated," notes Luis Fonseca, director of IMB-CNM-CSIC. "We have confirmed that the emergency protocols work and how essential prevention and drills are, since all staff inside the room knew how to act and evacuate the area," he adds.

The various alarm systems functioned as expected: gas and smoke detection, and fire suppression systems; as well as safety and evacuation protocols.

A high-security, high-precision facility

The Clean Room is a public facility housed and managed by the IMB-CNM, as a research center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), located on the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) since its founding in 1985. It is designated as a Unique Science and Technology Infrastructure (ICTS) by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, within the distributed Micronanofabs network.

The IMB-CNM-CSIC Clean Room is used for research and development of integrated circuits, systems, and sensors on a very small scale —at the micro- and nanoscale. It has a floor area of 1,500 square meters and must maintain consistent conditions—including temperature, humidity, and pressure—to ensure that processes can be repeated with precision.

This is a large laboratory divided into work zones where specific processes are carried out. Thus, the photolithography, thermal processes, wet etching, and microsystems areas coexist. Each area has its own fire detection and suppression system.

Director Luis Fonseca made the following statements about the issue: