[labnetwork] FW: Equipment Expected Lifetime

Mon Aug 22 14:36:58 EDT 2022

In response to obsolete control electronics and software, Plasma-Therm has developed field upgrades for more than 15 product lines, with hundreds of systems upgraded globally*. Upgrades are available for Plasma-Therm brands and acquired products from as far back as the early 1990s.

Upgrades include the Cortex control system, which Plasma-Therm supplies on all new systems. Cortex is a modern control system with a SEMI-standard, intuitive user interface. It provides process control, intelligent automation, error avoidance, alarm recovery, and in-program help. It runs on the latest Windows operating system on field-proven Industrial PCs.

After upgrading, equipment from even the early 1990s can gain potentially decades of useful productivity.

* Product lines include Apex, Vision, 790, SLR, 7000, LAPECVD, Corial, Kayen, Odyssey HDRF, QuaZar, Kobus F.A.S.T., Mask Etcher, Singulator 100, Singulator 300, Shuttleline, Tegal RIE, Versaline, Versalock)

Regards,

David Harris
Business Development Manager - Universities and R&D

[cid:image001.png at 01D8B62A.3291B080]

phone +1.215.321.1037
mobile +1.727.370.3947
David.Harris at plasmatherm.com<mailto:David.Harris at plasmatherm.com> | www.plasmatherm.com<http://plasmatherm.com/>

10050 16th St. North | St. Petersburg, FL 33716 USA
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From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> On Behalf Of Michael Yakimov
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2022 10:10 AM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Equipment Expected Lifetime

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Pretty much agree with Shimon. The simpler and more modular system may have an infinite lifetime (although ship of theseus comes to mind). Something more delicate and automated&computerized may be more difficult to deal with. Life limiting issues from my perspective:

  1.  Computers. You may have a perfectly functional machine with computer which used to run software on MS-DOS 6.2 - and now hard drive failed, no replacement or backup (MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS BACKED UP!); ISA cards cannot go into any newer pc, AT power supplies all have dry capacitors since the newest one was made in 1997. If you are lucky, the vendor is willing to a refurbish to a newest generation of PC and software for just 5x your annual budget. Can also be as simple as a battery in PLC real time clock as well; it has 8 years design life - and you run for 10 already….
  2.  Vendor support. Many vendors are reluctant to support older equipment. Some simple things you may fix from general experience. E-beam litho is 100% dependent on vendor.  There are no circuit diagrams supplied anymore, so if some electronics fails - and _that_ guy at vendor is retired, you’re SOL, even if they are willing to work with you. Agilent/Keysight used to require expensive support contract for anything and everything, even if the fix was one line of text, like “restart with switch 1 set to ON”. Newer things tend to be even worse in that respect.
  3.  An obsolete component with no replacement option may ruin things.  Pretty unpredictable situation all over. We had a chance to get a donation of a certain machine; vendor advised there are 3 irreplaceable components in those. Once any of them fails - it’s a full stop. Well, thank you, we’re not taking it, we know why original owner went for an upgrade. I know auto industry requires 10 year support commitment for parts vendors, and that is a huge thing. Equipment components support may not last that long.
  4.

Those are hard stops. There are softer stops, which are still harsh.

  1.  Seals. Elastomer, such as Viton seals, do age. At some point vacuum starts leaking randomly. An overhaul with total replacement may be quite an effort. IF this is a seal between two major parts, you may have to talk crane lift and full realignment.
  2.  Pumps - as one of most expensive replaceable components. Usually more or less interchangeable, unless comms are involved. Failed pump is an expensive problem, and you may have to take a choice of significant investment into an old machine vs write off.

+

Thanks

mike

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> On Behalf Of Joseph Losby
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2022 12:18
To: Colwill, Bryant C. <colwib2 at rpi.edu<mailto:colwib2 at rpi.edu>>; labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Equipment Expected Lifetime

Hi Bryant, this is very helpful, especially to those like me starting out in the field.  In my opinion, it would be quite informative to get expected lifetimes of specific tools (perhaps even including models) as well.  How long does a plasma etcher, or electron beam lithography tool, generally last (for example)?

Cheers,

Joe

________________________________

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> on behalf of Colwill, Bryant C. <colwib2 at rpi.edu<mailto:colwib2 at rpi.edu>>
Sent: August 15, 2022 9:00 AM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu> <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>>
Subject: [labnetwork] Equipment Expected Lifetime

[△EXTERNAL]

Hello All,

Long time stalker, first time talker.
As the title suggests, I'd like to hear some collective thoughts and experiences on expected equipment lifetimes.
Obviously very dependent on what it is, what it does, who made it, who uses it, etc., etc. but in a very general sense when is the average piece of equipment (if there is such a thing) on borrowed time?  I'm sure we all have some decades old machines and that replacing them solely for modernization's sake would be considered financial malfeasance.  However, under a more manufacturing mindset a strategy for planned obsolescence is not a bad idea.

To hopefully facilitate some replies/debate/conversation, here's my two cents:

Metrology Equipment --> 5-10 years
Processing Equipment --> 12-17 years

Also took a quick age survey of our ~50 pieces of equipment and found the following distribution:

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If the pie chart graphic isn't visible:  0 tools < 5years, 15 tools between 5 and 10 years, 17 tools between 5 and 10 years, 18 tools < 20 years

Be well,
Bryant

Bryant Colwill
RPI Cleanroom General Manager
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street, CII 6015
Troy, NY 12180
Ph: 518-276-3946<tel:518-276-3946>
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