High-Vaccum Pressure Sensors

Fueled by the ever-growing demand for computational power for Big-Data, IoT, AI, the semiconductor wafer fab equipment and related vacuum sensor market are thriving. The strongest growth is in leading-edge technology nodes (≤7nm) where geometries require process control at the atomic scale. A new class of manufacturing processes is becoming key enablers, shifting the process pressure to lower levels. In this context, the microGauge sensors outperform all current pressure sensors in the high vacuum range and generate unmatched customer values. On the other hand, the semiconductor market sets very high standards on product performance and reliability. Supported by Innosuisse, the MNS Group of ETH Zürich represent a key partner to address two crucial main challenges

1. the sensor needs to be protected against corrosive gases to sustain the etching and cleaning processes. Protective coatings have been extensively used in the industry to protect process chambers and components and have the potential to increase the etching barrier and lifetime of the microGauge sensor.
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2. the sensor response time needs to be tuned to follow fast process switching cycles. In this direction, the physical time delay introduced by the protective micro-channeled filter must be reduced and the response of the new system precisely characterized.
For further details on the filter topic, contact
For further details on the characterization, contact

In addition, the MNS group hosts the main measurement lab, where the microGauge sensors are continuously tested in long-term stability studies and many other measurement campaigns! For details about sensors characterization, feel free to contact any of the three-team members mentioned above.