Applied Materials Endura 5500 PVD cluster tool

Where the Endura 5500 fits

Applied Materials entered the PVD market with the Endura 5500 in 1990, and the platform became a standard for aluminium interconnect and Ti/TiN barrier films in 150 and 200 mm fabs. A used Endura 5500 suits pilot lines and small fabs that need repeatable metal stacks on full wafers, with throughput and particle performance that a single-chamber sputter coater cannot reach.

The tool is a staged-vacuum cluster: wafers move from the load locks through a buffer chamber and a transfer chamber, each with its own robot, to process chambers grouped around the mainframe. Typical configurations combine a pre-clean etch chamber, a degas position and two to four PVD chambers, but every system was built to a fab's own film stack. Before you buy, the chamber list matters more than the mainframe.

For a broader view of the category, see our deposition equipment overview.

What we inspect on a used Endura

We power the system up and walk through each subsystem against its original specification:

• Vacuum. Base pressure and rate-of-rise per chamber, cryopump regeneration behaviour and compressor condition.
• Wafer handling. Robot calibration, extension and rotation repeatability, end-effector condition and slit valve seals.
• Process chambers. Magnet rotation, shield and clamp ring condition, heater or electrostatic chuck function and target life remaining.
• Power. DC and RF supplies run into a load, with arc handling checked.
• Controls. Controller boot, logs, interlocks and the state of the hard drive or storage media.

Robots and cryopumps are the most frequent wear points. Chambers that sat open or vented for long periods also need more cleaning than the hours on the counter suggest.

Refurbishment scope

A typical refurbishment includes chamber strip and clean, new seals and O-rings, shield kit replacement, cryopump overhaul and robot recalibration. Where a chamber is missing or not needed, we can blank it off or reconfigure it. The chamber refurbishment page describes how we handle the process modules, and the vacuum system refurbishment page covers pumps, gauges and valves.

Each tool leaves with an inspection report and one of our four condition grades. Certified tools are run on a test deposition and the sheet resistance or thickness results are in the report.

Upgrades and spare parts

Older controller hardware is the main long-term risk on this platform. We can replace failing control computers and storage, rebuild robot drives and overhaul cryopumps with tested exchange units. Targets, shields and consumables are available from several aftermarket sources; we help you specify them for your process.

Facilities you will need

• Three-phase power, rating depending on chamber count and configuration
• Cooling water for chambers, power supplies and cryo compressors
• Clean dry air for pneumatics
• Nitrogen for venting and purge
• Argon and, for reactive processes, nitrogen process gas
• Rough pumping for the load locks and chambers
• Floor space and service access around the mainframe, plus remote racks

Buying advice

Decide your film stack and wafer size first, then match it to the chamber set on offer. Ask for the history of each chamber, not only the mainframe. Budget for targets, shield kits and cryopump service, which tend to dominate the running cost. Our post on budgeting for a used sputter system walks through those cost drivers in more detail.