Scheduled service on pumps, seals, lamps, RF and vacuum parts, with intervals based on how you use each tool, so failures happen less often and on your timetable.
Unplanned downtime on an older process tool is rarely a quick fix. A turbo pump bearing that fails without warning can take the chamber down for weeks while a replacement is found. A worn O-ring that lets in a slow leak can spoil a run of wafers before anyone notices. Preventive maintenance moves that work into planned windows, when parts are already on the shelf and users have been told the tool is booked.
For a university cleanroom this means tools that are ready when a new group of students starts. For a pilot line it means downtime that fits the production schedule instead of breaking it.
Original maintenance manuals assume a tool in a production fab running round the clock. Many research tools run a few hours a day, with a far wider mix of processes. Copying the manual's intervals either wastes money or misses the real wear points.
We set intervals per subsystem from three inputs: hours or cycles logged, the process chemistry, and what we measure at baseline. A sputter system depositing magnetic films needs more frequent shield changes than one running only aluminium. An etcher running chlorine chemistry needs closer attention to its pump and exhaust line than one running oxygen and argon. After each visit we compare measured wear with the plan and adjust it.
The exact checklist depends on the tool, but a visit usually covers these subsystems:
Every value we measure goes into the report, so the next visit starts from data rather than memory.
A routine preventive visit on a single-chamber tool usually takes between half a day and two days, depending on the tool and how much chamber work is due. Pump overhauls, chamber cleans with shield or liner changes, and vacuum bake-outs take longer. We tell you the expected downtime when we book the visit and plan around your users.
After each visit you receive a service report with tasks done, parts used, measured values before and after, and findings that need follow-up. Parts that are wearing faster than planned go on the recommended spare parts list. Preventive work is usually the core of a service contract, but you can book it per visit. For a worked example on one tool family, see our preventive maintenance checklist for plasma etch.
We inspect the tool, read its logs and record the condition of every wear part.
We set intervals per subsystem from usage, process chemistry and the baseline findings.
An engineer carries out the planned tasks in a booked window and checks the tool against its specification.
We report what we found and shorten or extend intervals based on the measured wear.
200 mm (8 in) · Late 1990s–2010s
150 mm (6 in) · 2000s–2020s
It depends on the chemistry and the hours run. A chlorine or fluorine etcher in daily use needs more frequent chamber and pump work than a lightly used oxygen asher, so we set intervals from your usage and adjust them after each visit.
Yes. We plan major visits around teaching terms or production schedules and keep shorter checks for times when the tool is less in demand.
We use the original manual as a starting point where it exists, then adapt it to the tool's age, its current configuration and how you run it.
We record it, tell you what it affects and quote the repair. Small fixes within the agreed scope are done on the spot; anything larger waits for your approval.
Thermal ALD gives the best conformality and the simplest tool. Plasma ALD adds lower temperatures and more materials. How to choose for a shared research lab.
Temperature, stress, hydrogen content and etch resistance separate PECVD and LPCVD nitride. How to choose the process, and the tool, for your device.
Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly checks that keep an RIE or ICP etcher stable, and the log entries that warn you before a run goes wrong.
Tell us the tool and what you need. We scope the work and send a written offer.