Keeping AMAT 9500 Wafer Transfer Arms Running

An obsolete motor in a workhorse tool

The AMAT 9500 series remains a workhorse in implant bays around the world. The 9500xR, xR200 and xR80 have earned their place through decades of reliable service, and many fabs plan to keep them running for years to come.

There is one problem. The original Kollmorgen motor fitted to the 9500-series wafer transfer arm is now obsolete. When that motor fails, sourcing a replacement has become difficult, slow and increasingly uncertain. A tool waiting on a single part is a tool that isn't producing.

A brand-new replacement for part 1080-90047

IES Semiconductor Parts has developed a brand-new, fully tested replacement for the AMAT wafer transfer arm motor, OEM part number 1080-90047. It is a direct drop-in: no modifications to the original arm are needed, and the connector panel plugs straight into the existing arm wiring.

This isn't a refurbished unit or a stopgap. It's a new motor, designed to give 9500-series arms a long-term future now that the original is no longer available.

Engineering it to behave like the original

A wafer transfer arm motor can't simply be swapped for any motor that fits the housing. The arm depends on precise, repeatable motion to move wafers safely, so the replacement has to behave like the part it replaces.

That meant extensive R&D. Our engineering team worked to ensure the new motor matches the original's key characteristics, including RPM and torque, so the arm moves exactly as the tool expects it to.

Proven on a live 9500xR implanter

Bench testing tells you a motor runs. It doesn't tell you a wafer arm will handle wafers correctly inside a working tool. So for this part, we went a step further than our usual test process.

The new motor was field tested on a customer's 9500xR implanter, where we checked for correct wafer handling under real operating conditions. It was a unique test programme for a unique part, and it means every motor we ship is backed by proven performance on a production tool, not just results on the bench.

Why the motor comes with a matched servo PCB

The new motor's characteristics differ slightly from the original Kollmorgen unit. To account for that, each motor is supplied with a matched wafer arm servo PCB, either a new board or a modified original AMAT board. The two are set up together as a pair before they leave us.

On site, installation stays simple. The engineer fits the motor and exchanges the card with the original board in the wafer arm chassis. No adjustments on the tool, no guesswork.

If you'd like to hold a spare, full details of the board modifications are available on request, and all spare parts are supported by IES.

Specification at a glance

If you want to learn more about the wafer transfer arm you can click on Download Brochure to see more details. To puchase a wafer trasfer arm click the button below.