Picosun ALD System Service and Maintenance

SiSTEM services atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems for research groups and manufacturers. Most of our work is on Picosun R-series and P-series tools, and we install, maintain, repair and decommission them, including tools that were bought from someone else.

Picosun R-series and P-series after 31 October 2026

Applied Materials, which owns Picosun, has retired the R-series and P-series and ends its own service support for them on 31 October 2026. Spares stay available directly from Applied Materials until 31 October 2027, unless an existing contract says otherwise.

Applied has written to its customers naming SiSTEM among the independent service providers willing to support these tools after that date. We’re independent of Applied Materials, and our service is agreed directly between you and us.

What we do on an ALD system

• Installation and commissioning of new systems, including additional machines on an existing site.
• Preventive maintenance. The reaction chamber is cleaned before the film on its walls starts to flake and put particles on your substrates. We inspect the heaters, heat reflectors, thermocouples and O-rings, then passivate the reactor and helium leak test it before it goes back into use.
• Fault-finding and repair, from interlocks and gas detector alarms to precursor delivery problems and unexplained changes in deposition rate.
• Precursor changes, with a helium leak test on the new connection.
• Decommissioning. Precursors are removed safely, lines are purged, utilities are disconnected and the system is prepared for transport.

We service it, whoever sold it

Today that means the platforms we know: Fortrend, ALD systems and 3D-Micromac. On ALD the proof is recent. In the last eighteen months we’ve carried out five service jobs for one global technology customer across three European sites, covering the installation of six ALD systems, a second machine on another site, a preventive maintenance visit and a decommissioning. SiSTEM supplied none of those tools.

In the UK we’ve serviced Picosun R-200 systems at the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute and at the University of York.

About atomic layer deposition

ALD builds a film one atomic layer at a time. Two precursors are pulsed into the chamber in turn, with a purge between them, and each reaction stops by itself once the surface is covered. Repeating the cycle grows the film to the thickness needed, with very even coverage over trenches and other 3D structures.

ALD service questions

Which ALD systems do you service?
Picosun R-series and P-series systems, including the R-200. For other ALD platforms, tell us the make and model and we’ll tell you straight if we can help.

Will my Picosun R-series or P-series tool still be supported after 31 October 2026?
Applied Materials ends its own service support on that date, and its spares support continues until 31 October 2027. We’ll keep servicing these tools after 31 October 2026.

Where do the spares come from?
Picosun spares come directly from Applied Materials. We don’t hold Picosun spares ourselves, so before a planned visit we’ll tell you which parts to order.

Do you sell ALD systems?
We service them. For a new Picosun system, contact Applied Materials.

How often does an ALD reactor need maintenance?
It depends on the chemistry and how many deposition runs the tool does, so each process has its own interval. The chamber needs cleaning before the film on its walls starts to flake, and we’ll help you set a schedule around your process.

Can you service a tool another company supplied?
Yes. Most of our ALD service work is on tools SiSTEM didn’t supply.

Where do you work?
We’re based at Silverstone in the UK and have serviced ALD systems at sites across Europe. Tell us where your tool is.

How do I request service?
Raise a support request and choose Picosun as the tool manufacturer, with the serial number if you have it. We’ll come back to you to arrange the visit.

Getting in touch

If a tool goes down, we stay on the fault until you confirm it’s working properly again. Raise a support request, or contact us to talk through a maintenance plan for your R-series or P-series tool.