Spare parts for legacy semiconductor equipment

The parts problem on older tools

For many tools in university cleanrooms and small fabs, the hardest part of a repair is not the work but the part. Controller boards, RF match components, gate valves, gauges and stage assemblies for platforms built in the 1990s are often discontinued, and the remaining supply sits in other labs, surplus dealers and parts tools. Finding semiconductor spare parts for a legacy tool is slow if you start when the tool is already down.

We help in two ways: by sourcing parts when you need them, and by helping you hold the right spares before you do.

Where our parts come from

We are independent of the equipment manufacturers and say plainly what each part is:

• Tested used parts from the second-hand market, surplus dealers and parts tools. Each one is inspected or tested before it is offered.
• Unused surplus parts that were never installed, from surplus stock. Each one is inspected before it is offered.
• Refurbished assemblies such as pumps, match networks, valves and chucks, rebuilt with new wear parts and tested.
• Third-party and modern equivalents where the original is discontinued: a current gauge, controller, mass flow controller or power supply that fits the original function, sometimes with an adapter or a small wiring change.
• Manufacturer parts where the OEM still sells them. We tell you so you can compare price and lead time; we do not present ourselves as an OEM distributor.

Every quote states which category a part falls into, its condition and its test result.

How we test

Testing depends on the part. Vacuum pumps are run up, checked for ultimate pressure and noise, and the oil or dry pump condition is recorded. Gauges are compared against a reference gauge. Valves are cycled and leak checked. Boards and power supplies are tested in a working tool or on a bench set-up where that is possible; when it is not, we say so in the quote. Parts sold as untested are labelled as untested.

A spares list for your site

The cheapest downtime is the downtime you avoid by having the part on the shelf. During a baseline or preventive maintenance visit we list the parts that fail most often on that tool, the parts that take longest to source, and the parts whose failure stops the tool entirely. Ranking by those three factors gives a short list worth stocking, rather than a long list nobody can fund.

Under a service contract we can source an agreed set of critical spares up front for you to keep at your site, so a failure turns into a visit rather than a search.

Lead time and what you provide

Parts listed as in stock ship once the quote is accepted. Parts we have to source take longer, and the quote gives an estimate of the lead time.

If you have a part number, look it up in our parts catalogue first, where listed parts can be quoted directly and show the tools they fit. To speed up any request, listed or not, send:

• The tool model and configuration
• A description of the part and where it sits in the tool
• Photos of labels, nameplates and connectors
• The assembly drawing or manual page if you have it

When a part is no longer worth chasing

Some components keep failing or are close to impossible to find, such as a proprietary controller board or a pump that contaminates the chamber. In those cases an upgrade of the subsystem can cost less over a few years than repeated searches for the same part. When we reach that point we quote both, for example a dry pump conversion next to a pump rebuild, so you can choose with the numbers in front of you.