Semiconductor equipment refurbishment for research and pilot fabs

What refurbishment means for a used tool

A used semiconductor tool usually arrives with a history you cannot fully see: years of process residue in the chamber, pumps run past their service interval, O-rings that have taken a set, and calibration that drifted long ago. Refurbishment is how we turn that into a tool with a known state. We take the platform back to its original specification, replace what is worn, and write down what we did and what we measured.

The service is aimed at university cleanrooms, pilot lines and small fabs that buy 50–200 mm tools second-hand, or that own an older tool and want it back in reliable service. It applies across the process areas we work in: plasma etch and ashing, PVD and CVD, mask aligners and coaters, furnaces and RTP, implanters and wet benches.

How we scope and price the work

Every refurbishment starts with an inspection. We power the tool up where we can, read its logs and diagnostics, leak-check the chamber and walk through the gas, vacuum, RF and motion systems. The result is a fault list with photos.

From that list we write a scope where each repair is a separate line item. Restoring interlocks and safety circuits is always included; other lines are your choice. A teaching lab that needs a reliable tool for one process may skip cosmetic work and options it will never use; a pilot line that needs uptime may want every consumable renewed in one go. We do not publish prices, because the cost depends almost entirely on what the inspection finds and on how easy parts are to source for that platform.

The main cost drivers are:

• Parts availability, especially for platforms the manufacturer no longer supports
• The condition of the chamber and whether parts can be cleaned or must be replaced
• The vacuum system: pump rebuilds or replacements, valves and gauges
• How much electronics repair the controller and RF generators need
• Whether you need a test process and a Certified grade, or a Refurbished grade is enough

A refurbishment covers the mechanical, vacuum and electrical state of the tool. It does not change what the tool is: that is the job of an upgrade, such as a new control system or a different wafer size. Scoping both together means the tool is opened only once. How each condition grade is decided is described on how we inspect.

Chamber refurbishment

The process chamber is where most wear and contamination sits. We strip the chamber, clean or replace liners, shields, electrodes and showerheads, renew elastomer seals and check heaters, clamps and lift mechanisms. See chamber refurbishment.

Vacuum system refurbishment

Base pressure and leak-up rate decide whether a process repeats. We service or replace roughing and turbo pumps, valves, gauges and foreline components, then document base pressure and leak rate. See vacuum system refurbishment.

Decontamination

Tools that ran toxic or corrosive chemistry must be cleaned before anyone opens them, ships them or installs them. We decontaminate chambers, exhaust lines and pump stacks and issue a written statement for the carrier and the receiving site. See decontamination.

Test and certification

For a Certified grade we run the tool on a test process, measure the result on wafers and put the data in the report, so you start from measured performance rather than a promise. See test and certification.

Before you ask for a quote

It helps to send the manufacturer, model and serial nameplate, the process the tool ran, any service records and photos of the chamber, the gas panel and the controller. If you are buying the tool from us, the inspection is already done and the scope options are in the listing or the quote.