Endura Amat Platform: What is it and how to find spare parts?

What exactly is the relationship between AMAT and Endura?

When it comes to semiconductor equipment, the AMAT that everyone often refers to is actually the stock code and industry abbreviation of Applied Materials (APM). When searching every day, many people are used to searching for “amat endura” or “applied materials endura”, but in fact they are looking for the same thing —— the Endura platform for applied materials. It should be noted that Endura does not refer to a single process cavity (Chamber), but to an entire series of PVD (physical vapor deposition) equipment platforms. Understanding this concept is the basis for our subsequent identification of parts and accurate procurement of spare parts.

What is the Endura platform primarily used for?

As a mature PVD platform, Endura is mainly responsible for processes such as front-end metallization, aluminum/copper interconnection, and sub-bulge metallization in the package. Simply put, the principle of PVD is to use plasma to bombard atoms from a solid target and deposit them onto the wafer surface, so it is specifically used to coat various metals and related films. This is completely different from CVD (chemical vapor deposition), which relies on gas reactions to produce thin films.

The best thing about Endura is that it can combine pre-cleaning and several steps of metal deposition in the same controlled vacuum environment. This way the wafer does not have to go in and out of vacuum repeatedly, greatly reducing the pollution and trouble caused by vacuum interruption, which is also what makes it stronger than those single-function machines.

What is the difference between it and Centura, P5000?

There are several monolithic multi-cavity platforms for application materials, and Endura is just one of them. For example, Centura is also multi-cavity, but its process coverage is very diverse, including etching, CVD, and epitaxy. The older generation P5000 (Precision 5000) mainly performs CVD and etching. In contrast, Endura is the main force in PVD and metal deposition.

What’s the use of knowing this? Because when buying spare parts, it is impossible to determine the specific process by simply reporting one “the name of the platform”. The same platform may have a wide range of process cavities, wafer sizes, and hardware versions.

How is the multi-cavity architecture configured?

A multi-cavity machine like this is basically composed of a mainframe (mainframe) plus a wafer transfer system, a load lock (loading lock), several process cavities, and a vacuum and control system. The wafer passes the chip inside, and the whole process is in vacuum.

According to official information, Endura’s architecture can accommodate up to 9 chambers (which can contain two pre-cleaned chambers). But this is only an upper limit “top-end”. In actual workshops, each machine has several chambers and different chambers. Currently, many of the publicly available materials are for PVD applications of 150mm (6 inches) and 200mm (8 inches).

What to pay attention to in older models and versions?

Endura has developed over the years and has released several versions such as Endura 5500, Endura II, Endura HP, Endura TXZ, etc. They cannot be directly equated. Take the old Endura 5500, for example. Early sources said it was a modular platform that could perform ultra-high vacuum PVD, conventional CVD, and even etching, but when buying spare parts, don’t read from historical sources.

If you buy accessories for a used or refurbished machine, the only reliable basis is the machine “what is installed now”. You must look at the physical hardware, modification records and current configuration files. It is easy to buy the wrong model just by looking at the model.

How to accurately identify cavity components?

The cavity structure of Endura is quite complex, including the cavity itself (Body), cavity cover (Lid), sealing ring, inlet and outlet pipes, transmission components, etc.

For example, the base (Heater/Pedestal) that carries the wafer may integrate heating, cooling, electrostatic adsorption (ESC), backside blowing or radio frequency functions. The slit valve (Slit Valve) switches the inlet and outlet of the tube wafer; the lift pin (Lift pin) or lift ring is responsible for handing over the wafer between the base and the manipulator. There are also various liners (Liner), shields (Shield), edge rings (Edge ring), shadow rings (Shadow ring) and cover rings (Cover ring), which are consumables used to protect the cavity, control the deposition range or facilitate maintenance. The name sounds similar, but the material and structure may be a thousand miles different.

So, when purchasing spare parts, giving just one “amat endura” is totally not enough. You have to check this hierarchy according to: Platform -> Host -> Process Chamber -> Process Kit -> Wafer Size -> Material Number (PN) -> Revision (Revision). When encountering old devices, it is best to also provide information such as the device serial number, old photos, interface size and even software version. The more detailed the better.

How to choose new, refurbished and replacement parts?

Spare parts on the market are diverse, including new parts, cleaning parts, repair parts, refurbished parts and domestic replacement parts. The quotation, inspection standards, life and warranty are different for each, and must be clearly stated in advance.

For example, the surface of a refurbished part does not need to be cleaned. During acceptance, the size, surface condition, sealing, vacuum degree, particle contamination, and various functional indicators must be checked. If you buy a replacement part, it will be more stringent. Key dimensions, vacuum interface, material, surface treatment, cleanliness, temperature resistance and corrosion resistance must be verified one by one. It must not be used as if it is the same just because it looks like “or ”is similar to the description“.

What do I need to prepare when looking for suppliers to inquire about prices?

If you are looking for Endura-related spare parts, you can refer to Wuxi Zhanshuo Technology Co., Ltd. (brand name CHINSOR) in China. The company was established in 2017 in the Optoelectronics Technology Park in Liangxi District, Wuxi, and specializes in the research and development, manufacturing and after-sales of semiconductor components. Their home mainly makes spare parts and machined parts for PVD, CVD and ETCH equipment. They can cover many parts of platforms such as Endura 5500, Centura 5200, P5000 and Emax.

When asking suppliers for prices, the most basic thing is to provide the target material number and quantity. If it is an export, remember to mention that a CIF quote is required and the port of destination is provided.

If the material number cannot be found or you are afraid that it will not be correct, you can directly send old photos, drawings or physical samples to confirm. After all, the price of spare parts is related to materials, transportation, quantity and specific processing requirements. If the conditions are not sufficient, you cannot declare a dead price.

In short, clarifying the specific material number, cavity name, and wafer size under the Applied Materials Endura platform is a key step in your efficient and accurate price inquiry.