Used and refurbished equipment for university cleanrooms
Refurbished lithography, etch, deposition and metrology tools for shared research cleanrooms, with documentation for procurement and training for new users.
What a university cleanroom needs from a tool
A university cleanroom is a different environment from a production fab. One mask aligner or etcher may serve dozens of users across several research groups, each with their own substrates, resists and recipes. Users change every year as students graduate. The tool must tolerate that, be safe in inexperienced hands, and be simple enough to train on in an afternoon.
That is why used and refurbished equipment fits research labs so well. The manual and semi-automatic single-wafer tools that fabs retired years ago are often exactly the right size, flexibility and complexity for teaching and research. A refurbished manual mask aligner, a parallel-plate RIE or a compact sputter system can run most processes a research group needs, on small pieces as well as full wafers.
Tools research cleanrooms typically need
Most university projects start from a core set of process steps:
- Lithography: manual mask aligners for contact and proximity exposure, spin coaters and hot plates, sometimes a laser writer for mask making. See our lithography equipment.
- Etch: RIE or ICP systems for dielectrics, silicon and III-V materials, plus plasma ashers for resist strip.
- Deposition: sputter and e-beam evaporation for metals and lift-off, PECVD for oxide and nitride, and increasingly ALD.
- Thermal processing: tube furnaces for oxidation and annealing, rapid thermal processing.
- Metrology: ellipsometers or reflectometers for film thickness, stylus profilometers for step height, and SEM for imaging.
If you are deciding between etch technologies for a new lab, our article on ICP vs RIE for a university cleanroom sets out the trade-offs.
Working with university procurement
Public universities buy through procurement rules that set out how quotes are requested, compared and approved. We work within that process:
- Written quotes that state the tool, configuration, condition grade, refurbishment scope, warranty terms, delivery terms and facility requirements separately, so they can be compared line by line with other offers.
- Technical specifications written in plain terms that a procurement officer and a professor can both check.
- Inspection reports and photos available before you commit, so the technical evaluation is based on the actual tool.
- Clear statements of what is and is not included, such as rigging, hook-up, training or spare parts.
Research funding often comes with a fixed spending deadline. Tell us that date early. A Certified tool with refurbishment and a test process run takes longer to prepare than an Inspected one, and installation needs your facility to be ready with power, cooling water, gases and exhaust.
Installation in a shared facility
Installing a tool in a working research cleanroom means fitting around other users. We plan the delivery route, cleanroom entry and hook-up with your facility manager, and keep the work inside agreed time windows where possible. Before delivery we send the facility requirements for the tool so your technical staff can prepare the connections.
After commissioning, we train your cleanroom staff on operation, routine maintenance and safe recovery from common faults. Our operator training service can include a short user guide written around your own process, which cleanroom staff can use to train students.
Keeping older tools running
Many university cleanrooms already run tools that are twenty or thirty years old, and the issue is not buying but keeping them going: a failing controller, an unavailable lamp house, a pump that needs replacing. We repair and maintain tools whatever their origin, supply refurbished spare parts and can upgrade the parts most prone to obsolescence, such as control systems and light sources.
A planned maintenance visit once or twice a year often costs less than an emergency repair during a busy semester, and gives your staff a written record of the tool's state.
Start a conversation
Send us the process steps you need, the wafer or sample sizes you work with and what your cleanroom can supply. We will reply with tools that fit, their condition and what it would take to install them. Request a quote to start.
Questions and answers
Can you provide the documents our tender process needs?
Yes. We provide a written quote with the tool specification, condition grade, scope of work, delivery terms and facility requirements, and can answer technical questions in the format your procurement office uses.
Our funding is approved for a specific date. Can you work to that?
Tell us the funding timeline when you first contact us. We will say which tools and grades can realistically be delivered and installed in that window, and which cannot.
Do you train students and new users?
Yes. Operator training can be added to any installation and is usually given to the cleanroom staff who then train users, with a short user guide written for your process.
Can you service tools we bought elsewhere?
Yes. We maintain and repair tools regardless of where they came from, subject to parts availability for that platform.
Looking for a specific tool?
Tell us the process, wafer size and facilities. We shortlist tools that fit and send an inspection report with every offer.