High-performance 300 mm wafer heating and cooling stations with low contamination
Project snapshot
Client:
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Challenge
Achieving fast, uniform thermal control without introducing contamination
Existing solutions presented tradeoffs that limited performance:
- Thermal limitations: Systems struggled to achieve both rapid ramp rates and tight temperature uniformity, impacting throughput and process consistency.
- Contamination risk: Contact-based approaches often introduced backside metals or particles, reducing yield and increasing cleaning requirements.
- Integration constraints: Solutions needed to fit within existing tool architectures while maintaining reliability, serviceability, and uptime expectations for semiconductor fabs.
The challenge was to deliver high-speed thermal performance without compromising cleanliness, reliability, or integration flexibility.
Innovation
Compact, modular wafer thermal management with precise control
We developed a 300 mm wafer pre-heat and post-cool station delivering high uniformity and minimal contamination.
Key elements included:
- Resistive heating achieving <2 °C uniformity and temperatures up to 450 °C in under 15 seconds.
- Optional integrated cooling platen enabling rapid cooldown from 400 °C to 50 °C in <26 seconds.
- Low backside metals and particle contamination, meeting stringent wafer cleanliness requirements.
- Integrated wafer pin lifts for safe transfer between hot and cold platens.
- Modular, BOLTS-compliant interface with standard or customizable ethernet/serial control.
- Production-proven reliability with 10 units deployed, MTBF >20,000 hrs, and 98% uptime.
- Front-access serviceability for quick troubleshooting and low-cost field-replaceable units.
Result
Production-ready, low-contamination wafer thermal stations
The modules deliver fast, uniform heating and cooling with industry-leading cleanliness, high reliability, and minimal maintenance, supporting high-volume 300 mm wafer manufacturing.
Featured capabilities:
Case studies
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