WF Industrialopolis US

At WFI US, we do most of our repairs in our Austin shop. We get a lot of CMP parts, implant parts, power supplies, ADIO cards, etc... One of our main focal points is to offer spares repairs physically in the US. Additionally, we have larger counterparts and JV partners worldwide. This allows us to draw from a variety of experts, when we need to spin up new repair loops for the US. Also, our roots are in the whole equipment refurbishment business. This being the case, we can generally touch every part of a tool. Follow us if you need a partner who will work with you to repair every piece on your equipment, including 3rd party consumables. Mechanical part in repair:

Back in the 90's, we used to refer to plasma scan monitoring tools as "plasma scam" tools. Since then, a number of working in-chamber diagnostic solutions have become available. We all know about thermal monitoring wafers, like the wireless iSenseCoud thermal map in the picture below. These kinds of solutions have come a long way from the old wired solutions. In addition to thermal, difference plasma density parameters are available like impedance and harmonics. Also, there are gap measurement wafers, centering wafers, etc... For the average wafer fab, the number of wireless monitoring solutions for plasma process tools is simply incredible. iSenseCloud thermal map:

A big part of the refurbished equipment world is firmware and software support. Even when it comes to equipment that is no longer supported by the OEM, one can get into situation where you are an old Windows NT computer crash away from being tool down. For smaller facilities this can mean going line down. For our lab, MEMS, and "thin film" customer base, there are services out there that can image your computers and do a deep dive on your semi-custom 3rd party software. Even on some of the oldest test operations running Windows 95 computers, there are ways to stabilize your situation.

We get a variety of mechanical sub-assemblies for repair. Some of these have been running for years and may have also been sitting in a parts grave yard for years. This being the case, you can see any manner of wear, build up, or corrosion. Regardless, we lean on our larger engineering network for new repair loops or spare parts sub-variant repair loops. We've been refurbishing full equipment since 2007, so we've gotten our hands into a lot of different repairs over the years. Follow us if you need a partner who is not afraid to take on new repair loops, either mechanical or electrical. Mechanical assembly disassembly:

Some of us were thinking back to when many of us were installing new 200mm and 300mm equipment, 20 years ago. Now, this same equipment is decades old with spares in various states of wear. For a refurbisher, ad hoc adhesives can be quite a challenge. Regardless, when you get a mechanical spare, it might only need usual wear parts. Other times, a spare might need screws, covers, or motors. Follow us if you need a partner who has pre-existing repair loops and can develop new or custom repair loops.

When comes to running a turn key semiconductor operation, this usually means the operation has a wide array of power supplies. Folks who work in the fab will have a different experience from a test operation...but both can be located on the same campus. We've seen test area power supplies from the 70's and 80's, with more modern power supplies which are used in the latest and greatest 300mm semiconductor equipment. As we wrote last Friday, this is a huge challenge for maintenance teams, with component supply chains being pinched. From older transformer rewinding to obsolete electrolytic capacitors, it is a tough job. Even for 3rd party support folks, chasing down these niche component sources can be challenging. Our advice? Start working on your parts shelves or your figurative closets full of failed power supplies. It's not getting easier to fix these ever aging components. Implant power supply:

As older testers and process equipment continue to age, the subsequent component supply chains begin to shrink or completely dry up. For our fab and other "thin film" partners who are stretching their equipment decade by decade, you have to be aware of the components in your spares. As things go end of life, you have to go through lifetime purchases to keep yourself running. As an example, we've come across more than a few older test areas that are running things as old as Windows 95 computers. Alternatively, on the power supply front, getting niche electrolytic capacitors is getting harder. Electrolytic capacitor image from a Harvard engineering blog:

We work on just about every moving part on a CMP tool. With the numbers of manufacturers and part generations out there, you have to be comfortable with different mechanical assemblies. In particular you have to understand what "good" is, after you've taken something apart and can see the various mechanical parts. What's cosmetic? What's a sign of normal wear? What's a sign of abnormal wear? How can you differentiate the different kinds of wear...across a variety of similar parts that are different across suppliers and within-supplier tool generations? If you need a standard or new repair loop on your mechanical sub-assemblies, follow us:

When it comes to power supplies that are older than our engineers, it highlights how fragile the component supply chain can be. As process and test equipment design goes in dramatically different directions, even sourcing things can be difficult. This is why it is so critical that a wafer fab have a tight quality system. It is so important to maintain BOM's on your aged equipment. This way you can define things like capacitor sourcing strategies. Regardless, the modern legacy fabs have a tough job in front of them. Capacitors on an old power supply:

It's been a long time since ion implanters, etchers and films tools have been designed with many boards and cards. When it comes to these electronic components, the design element is leveraged for so long, that you will get many revisions of components, boards, connectors, etc... This is why it's tough to find a one-stop shop for most things. For older fabs, you are going to have to partner on de facto new repair loops. In the beginning, you are going to have to work with your partner regarding the full system or end use case. One of the biggest challenges is the final use electrical system. You might see a difference between an offline test rig and the final equipment. Regardless, this goes back to our previous posts regarding the need to for electrical engineering support and test engineering support. Zoomed in view of a board in a card: