Slim, Mobile Leak Detectors

UL3000 Fab ULTRA leak detector uses the vacuum method with helium as the tracer gas in order to safely detect the smallest leaks. The UL3000 Fab ULTRA replaces the scroll pump used in previous models with a high-performance roots pump. This superior roughing pump allows the UL3000 Fab ULTRA to evacuate production equipment being tested much faster–especially when it is very large. Due to its high air pumping capacity (up to 36 m³ per hour) particularly in the relevant pressure range (normal pressure down to 1 mbar), the detector reduces the evacuation time and hence downtime in production facilities decisively. At a semiconductor manufacturer, the entire purchase price of the detector pays for itself within minutes thanks to shorter process interruption that results in faster testing process times. Another advantage of the new UL3000 Fab ULTRA is the low-maintenance roots pump which reduces operating costs.

When it comes to vacuum chambers with a volume to be evacuated of 100 l, the roots pump featured on the UL3000 Fab ULTRA is already half a minute faster than other common pump models such as scroll or other roots pumps. On larger units with a volume of 1000 l, the time saved is even more than 5 minutes. The actual leak check thus starts much sooner and the interruption to production is shorter. General plus points of the UL3000 leak detector line from INFICON are the slim, mobile design, the quick readiness to measure, the robustness, and the intuitive operating concept. This also applies to the unit’s economy sister model, the UL 3000 Fab, which works with a scroll pump. Both leak detectors produced by INFICON can identify leak rates of down to 5 ∙ 10-12 mbar∙l/s when testing the vacuum in wafer chambers. The appliances are also suitable for locating leaks on process gas and  vacuum lines, which can often be found in semiconductor manufacturing fabs. In the case of sniffer leak detection, the appliances in the UL3000 family identify threshold leak rates of up to 5 ∙ 10-8 mbar∙l/s.

In conventional scroll pumps, abrasion occurs. As a result, the scroll head and its tip seal must be replaced regularly. Because the working principle of the new roots pump is frictionless, it prevents this abrasion–and the time spent on maintenance is reduced. In addition, the UL3000 Fab ULTRA works without an exhaust filter, which would otherwise need to be cleaned and replaced on a regular basis. The UL3000 Fab ULTRA is designed so the roots pump and its inverter are housed separately within the unit. This design makes it possible to replace the pump only or the inverter only, optimizing the saving of both time and costs associated with this end of life service, if needed.