Products & Technologies
Products & Technologies
Services
Resources
Back to Menu
Products & Technologies
Services
Resources
"Spring has Sprung!" And that can only mean one thing: it’s time for spring cleaning. So it’s a perfect time to discuss the importance and benefits of overall production system cleanliness.
In the semiconductor world, when people think of tool cleaning they are usually referring to "chamber cleans," which are done frequently based on wafer count, RF hours, or some other measure of tool activity. Chamber cleans, or chamber PMs, are essential to ensure that process chambers are returned to a normal condition for continued wafer processing.
Since chamber PMs are driven by tool activity, we tend to ignore the benefits of overall system cleanliness. But performing comprehensive systems cleans should also be part of the process of tool maintenance because it plays a key role in extending system longevity and reducing downtime.
As we perform maintenance on a system, whether preventive or corrective, some items that should be part of a maintenance checklist are often missed, in part because they are in areas of low visibility. What I’m referring to here are overall checks of the system’s wiring, interlocks, major cables, boards and panels, to mention just a few of the critical items.
Tidy up the tools
Semiconductor tools go through many corrective and preventive maintenance routines. Some of them are planned; others are unscheduled downs or even PMs due to any number of incidental issues. Some require basic part removal and replacement and others, in the case of troubleshooting, require removal of critical cables and electronic boards. Here are a few items that may be missed during preventive or corrective maintenance, but which should be routinely checked.
Overall, keeping the systems clean and clutter free, and ensuring no system-related objects are removed will go a long way toward keeping the systems performing to specifications.
Our Commitment
At Applied Materials, we are committed to providing our customers with the best-performing systems and world-class service support. We recommend customers use our ON-Demand™ service for overall system checks and health assessments. Schedule yours today. Call the Applied Materials Global Customer Contact Center at 1-800-468-8888 (1-800-HOT-TTTT) and your local Field Service representative will contact you promptly. Or reach us by email at www.GCC_AMNA@amat.com, or online at www.appliedmaterials.com/customer-portal.