To put into perspective how fragile the Platter of a hard disk drive can be, a piece of dust or even a fingerprint can cause damage on platter. This is due to the incredible precision required for the parts to work concurrently, and this can be quite challenging for one trying to recover data without physically damaging the hard drive. How do we combat the fragility of the hard drive? Enter the realm of Cleanrooms.

Typically utilized during scientific research and manufacturing, the usage of various cleanrooms has expanded greatly over time. In essence, the cleanroom is able to suppress the level of pollutants (e.g., dust, aerosol particles, airborne microbes, and chemical vapors). Ambient air contains 35 million particles on average per cubic meter, 0.5 micron and larger in diameter. By keeping the level of such pollutants low, fragile material is protected from damage upon close inspection and upfront checks.

There are different metrics we use to define the technology used in different cleanrooms. A cleanroom is any given contained space where provisions are made to reduce particulate contamination and control other environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and pressure. For instance, most cleanrooms make use of a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter to suppress the number of pollutants. This technology is used to trap particles that are 0.3 micron and larger in size. All of the air delivered to a cleanroom passes through these filters. Occasionally, stricter air control is required, in which the use of Ultra Low Particulate Air (ULPA) filters is employed.

Now that we have familiarized ourselves with a basic idea of how cleanrooms work, it is important now to visualize how airflow works in a cleanroom. Air is filtered via laminar and turbulent airflow principles. In lay man terms, laminar airflow is unidirectional, which means air is directed downwards in a constant stream.

Cleanrooms can be further classified into various “classes”, in respect to the extent of filtration required. However, we would only like to discuss fundamental principles in cleanrooms today.

Despite the vast amount of filtration cleanroom filters can deploy, personnel working in cleanrooms are still mandated to don certain types of protective equipment to minimize the chances of contamination further. Such personnel undergo stringent selection requirements and extensive training in contamination control theory. On top of that, garments are used by such personnel: boots, shoes, aprons, beard covers, bouffant caps, coveralls, face masks, frocks/lab coats, gowns, glove and finger cots, hairnets, hoods, sleeves and shoe covers to name a bunch.

One interesting note on contamination is the fact that personal contamination is a much more significant factor than how we think of it. This type of personnel contamination can degrade product performance in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries and it can cause cross-infection between medical staff and patients in the healthcare industry for example. Such clothing is meant to prevent personal contamination as much as possible, quite notably.

Here at EHDR centre, we have our own cleanroom at the expense of high costs to maintain it. This is how we ensure that every customer we attend to receive a reliable experience and the right treatment to data recovery. Our team is adept at various recovery diagnostics and hands-on tasks, so be assured that your lost data will fall into the right hands.

EHDR, We Leave No Data Behind.