Phoenix trade school opens nation’s 1st semiconductor cleanroom for K-12 students

PHOENX – The nation’s first semiconductor cleanroom for students in grades K-12 is now open at West-MEC, a Valley trade school.

Cleanrooms are controlled environments that meet certain standards of air quality and humidity. They are used to keep semiconductor chips, wafers and other moving parts sterile during the manufacturing process.

The new semiconductor cleanroom at the West-MEC Northeast Campus in Phoenix features industry-grade technology. Students, who must don sterile “bunny suits” before entering the room, will get hands-on experience building semiconductor chips following a curriculum created with input from TSMC Arizona and Amkor Technology.

The cleanroom will also be open to parents and teachers for opportunities to learn about the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductor cleanroom will help students prepare for local jobs

West-MEC Superintendent Scott Spurgeon said his trade school partners with Valley semiconductor manufacturers to ensure that students are prepared to work at local companies.

“We’re actually being proactive to say, ‘What are your workforce needs and how can West-MEC be a part of that?’” he said.

West-MEC student Shawn Cravalho, a Mountain Ridge High School senior, said having access to a semiconductor cleanroom will give him a head start in his future career.

“To have something like the cleanroom is a crazy opportunity, especially [in] the first year. When we graduate, these big industry companies are going to come looking for us. They’re going to hunt us down because we have this experience that not many other kids get to experience,” he said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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