ECCN
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3B991
3B991 Equipment not controlled by 3B001, 3B993, or 3B994, for the manufacture of electronic “parts,” “components,” and materials, and “specially designed” “parts,” “components,” and “accessories” therefor.
- Category
- Category 3—Electronics
- Product group
- B. “Test”, “Inspection” and “Production Equipment”
Reason for Control
- AT
Official text
License Requirements
Reason for Control:
AT
Control(s) Country chart(see Supp. No. 1to part 738) AT applies to entire entry AT Column 1.
List Based License Exceptions (See Part 740 for a Description of All License Exceptions)
LVS: N/A
GBS: N/A
List of Items Controlled
Related Controls: N/A
Related Definitions: 'Sputtering' is an overlay coating process wherein positively charged ions are accelerated by an electric field towards the surface of a target (coating material). The kinetic energy of the impacting ions is sufficient to cause target surface atoms to be released and deposited on the substrate. Note: Triode, magnetron or radio frequency sputtering to increase adhesion of coating and rate of deposition are ordinary modifications of the process.
Items:
a. Equipment “specially designed” for the manufacture of electron tubes, optical elements, and “specially designed” “parts” and “components” therefor controlled by 3A001 or 3A991;
b. Equipment “specially designed” for the manufacture of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits and “electronic assemblies,” as follows, and systems incorporating or having the characteristics of such equipment:
Note:
3B991.b also controls equipment used or modified for use in the manufacture of other devices, such as imaging devices, electro-optical devices, acoustic-wave devices.
b.1. Equipment for the processing of materials for the manufacture of devices, “parts,” and “components” as specified in the heading of 3B991.b, as follows:
Note:
3B991 does not control quartz furnace tubes, furnace liners, paddles, boats (except “specially designed” caged boats), bubblers, cassettes or crucibles “specially designed” for the processing equipment controlled by 3B991.b.1.
b.1.a. Equipment for producing polycrystalline silicon and materials controlled by 3C001;
b.1.b. Equipment “specially designed” for purifying or processing III/V and II/VI semiconductor materials controlled by ECCNs 3C001, 3C002, 3C003, 3C004, or 3C005 except crystal pullers, for which see 3B991.b.1.c below;
b.1.c. Crystal pullers and furnaces, as follows:
Note:
3B991.b.1.c does not control diffusion and oxidation furnaces.
b.1.c.1. Annealing or recrystallizing equipment other than constant temperature furnaces employing high rates of energy transfer capable of processing wafers at a rate exceeding 0.005 m 2 per minute;
b.1.c.2. “Stored program controlled” crystal pullers having any of the following characteristics:
b.1.c.2.a. Rechargeable without replacing the crucible container;
b.1.c.2.b. Capable of operation at pressures above 2.5 × 10 5 Pa; or
b.1.c.2.c. Capable of pulling crystals of a diameter exceeding 100 mm;
b.1.d. “Stored program controlled” equipment for epitaxial growth having any of the following characteristics:
b.1.d.1. Capable of producing silicon layer with a thickness uniform to less than ±2.5% across a distance of 200 mm or more;
b.1.d.2. Capable of producing a layer of any material other than silicon with a thickness uniformity across the wafer of equal to or better than ±3.5%; or
b.1.d.3. Rotation of individual wafers during processing;
b.1.e. Molecular beam epitaxial growth equipment;
b.1.f. Magnetically enhanced 'sputtering' equipment with “specially designed” integral load locks capable of transferring wafers in an isolated vacuum environment;
b.1.g. Equipment “specially designed” for ion implantation, ion-enhanced, or photo-enhanced diffusion, having any of the following characteristics:
b.1.g.1. Patterning capability;
b.1.g.2. Beam energy (accelerating voltage) exceeding 200 keV;
b.1.g.3 Optimized to operate at a beam energy (accelerating voltage) of less than 10 keV; or
b.1.g.4. Capable of high energy oxygen implant into a heated “substrate”;
b.1.h. “Stored program controlled” equipment for the selective removal (i.e., etching) by means of anisotropic dry methods (e.g., plasma), as follows:
b.1.h.1. Batch types having either of the following:
b.1.h.1.a. End-point detection, other than optical emission spectroscopy types; or
b.1.h.1.b. Reactor operational (etching) pressure of 26.66 Pa or less;
b.1.h.2. Single wafer types having any of the following:
b.1.h.2.a. End-point detection, other than optical emission spectroscopy types;
b.1.h.2.b. Reactor operational (etching) pressure of 26.66 Pa or less; or
b.1.h.2.c. Cassette-to-cassette and load locks wafer handling;
Note 1:
“Batch types” refers to machines not “specially designed” for production processing of single wafers. Such machines can process two or more wafers simultaneously with common process parameters (e.g., RF power, temperature, etch gas species, flow rates).
Note 2:
“Single wafer types” refers to machines “specially designed” for production processing of single wafers. These machines may use automatic wafer handling techniques to load a single wafer into the equipment for processing.
The definition includes equipment that can load and process several wafers but where the etching parameters (e.g., RF power or end point) can be independently determined for each individual wafer.
b.1.i. “Chemical vapor deposition” (CVD) equipment (e.g., plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) or photo-enhanced CVD) for semiconductor device manufacturing, having either of the following capabilities, for deposition of oxides, nitrides, metals, or polysilicon:
b.1.i.1. “Chemical vapor deposition” equipment operating below 10 5 Pa; or
b.1.i.2. PECVD equipment operating either below 60 Pa (450 millitorr) or having automatic cassette-to-cassette and load lock wafer handling;
Note:
3B991.b.1.i does not control low pressure “chemical vapor deposition” (LPCVD) systems or reactive “sputtering” equipment.
b.1.j. Electron beam systems “specially designed” or modified for mask making or semiconductor device processing having any of the following characteristics:
b.1.j.1. Electrostatic beam deflection;
b.1.j.2. Shaped, non-Gaussian beam profile;
b.1.j.3. Digital-to-analog conversion rate exceeding 3 MHz;
b.1.j.4. Digital-to-analog conversion accuracy exceeding 12 bit; or
b.1.j.5. Target-to-beam position feedback control precision of 1 micrometer or finer;
Note:
3B991.b.1.j does not control electron beam deposition systems or general purpose scanning electron microscopes.
b.1.k. Surface finishing equipment for the processing of semiconductor wafers as follows:
b.1.k.1. “Specially designed” equipment for backside processing of wafers thinner than 100 micrometer and the subsequent separation thereof; or
b.1.k.2. “Specially designed” equipment for achieving a surface roughness of the active surface of a processed wafer with a two-sigma value of 2 micrometer or less, total indicator reading (TIR);
Note:
3B991.b.1.k does not control single-side lapping and polishing equipment for wafer surface finishing.
b.1.l. Interconnection equipment which includes common single or multiple vacuum chambers “specially designed” to permit the integration of any equipment controlled by 3B991 into a complete system;
b.1.m. “Stored program controlled” equipment using “lasers” for the repair or trimming of “monolithic integrated circuits” with either of the following characteristics:
b.1.m.1. Positioning accuracy less than ±1 micrometer; or
b.1.m.2. Spot size (kerf width) less than 3 micrometer.
b.2. Masks, mask “substrates,” mask-making equipment and image transfer equipment for the manufacture of devices, “parts” and “components” as specified in the heading of 3B991, as follows:
Note:
The term “masks” refers to those used in electron beam lithography, X-ray lithography, and ultraviolet lithography, as well as the usual ultraviolet and visible photo-lithography.
b.2.a. Finished masks, reticles and designs therefor, except:
b.2.a.1. Finished masks or reticles for the production of unembargoed integrated circuits; or
b.2.a.2. Masks or reticles, having both of the following characteristics:
b.2.a.2.a. Their design is based on geometries of 2.5 micrometer or more; and
b.2.a.2.b. The design does not include special features to alter the intended use by means of production equipment or “software”;
b.2.b. Mask “substrates” as follows:
b.2.b.1. Hard surface (e.g., chromium, silicon, molybdenum) coated “substrates” (e.g., glass, quartz, sapphire) for the preparation of masks having dimensions exceeding 125 mm x 125 mm; or
b.2.b.2. “Substrates” “specially designed” for X-ray masks;
b.2.c. Equipment, other than general purpose computers, “specially designed” for computer aided design (CAD) of semiconductor devices or integrated circuits;
b.2.d. Equipment or machines, as follows, for mask or reticle fabrication:
b.2.d.1. Photo-optical step and repeat cameras capable of producing arrays larger than 100 mm x 100 mm, or capable of producing a single exposure larger than 6 mm x 6 mm in the image (i.e., focal) plane, or capable of producing line widths of less than 2.5 micrometer in the photoresist on the “substrate”;
b.2.d.2. Mask or reticle fabrication equipment using ion or “laser” beam lithography capable of producing line widths of less than 2.5 micrometer; or
b.2.d.3. Equipment or holders for altering masks or reticles or adding pellicles to remove defects;
Note:
3B991.b.2.d.1 and b.2.d.2 do not control mask fabrication equipment using photo-optical methods which was either commercially available before the 1st of January, 1980, or has a performance no better than such equipment.
b.2.e. “Stored program controlled” equipment for the inspection of masks, reticles or pellicles with:
b.2.e.1. A resolution of 0.25 micrometer or finer; and
b.2.e.2. A precision of 0.75 micrometer or finer over a distance in one or two coordinates of 63.5 mm or more;
Note:
3B991.b.2.e does not control general purpose scanning electron microscopes except when “specially designed” and instrumented for automatic pattern inspection.
b.2.f. Align and expose equipment for wafer production using photo-optical or X-ray methods (e.g., lithography equipment) including both projection image transfer equipment and step and repeat (i.e., direct step on wafer) or step and scan (scanner) equipment, capable of performing any of the following functions:
Note:
3B991.b.2.f does not control photo-optical contact and proximity mask align and expose equipment or contact image transfer equipment.
b.2.f.1. Production of a pattern size of less than 2.5 micrometer;
b.2.f.2. Alignment with a precision finer than ±0.25 micrometer (3 sigma);
b.2.f.3. Machine-to-machine overlay no better than ±0.3 micrometer; or
b.2.f.4. A light source wavelength shorter than 400 nm;
b.2.g. Electron beam, ion beam or X-ray equipment for projection image transfer capable of producing patterns less than 2.5 micrometer;
Note:
For focused, deflected-beam systems(direct write systems), see 3B991.b.1.j or b.10.
b.2.h. Equipment using “lasers” for direct write on wafers capable of producing patterns less than 2.5 micrometer.
b.3. Equipment for the assembly of integrated circuits, as follows:
b.3.a. “Stored program controlled” die bonders having all of the following characteristics:
b.3.a.1. “Specially designed” for “hybrid integrated circuits”;
b.3.a.2. X-Y stage positioning travel exceeding 37.5 × 37.5 mm; and
b.3.a.3. Placement accuracy in the X-Y plane of finer than ±10 micrometer;
b.3.b. “Stored program controlled” equipment for producing multiple bonds in a single operation (e.g., beam lead bonders, chip carrier bonders, tape bonders);
b.3.c. Semi-automatic or automatic hot cap sealers, in which the cap is heated locally to a higher temperature than the body of the package, “specially designed” for ceramic microcircuit packages controlled by 3A001 and that have a throughput equal to or more than one package per minute.
Note:
3B991.b.3 does not control general purpose resistance type spot welders.
b.4. Filters for clean rooms capable of providing an air environment of 10 or less particles of 0.3 micrometer or smaller per 0.02832 m 3 and filter materials therefor.
ecfr-15cfr774-supp1-2026-08-28 · effective 2026-08-28
Issue date 2026-08-28. Amendment date 2026-08-28.
- eCFR Commerce Control List (15 CFR 774, Supplement No. 1)www.ecfr.gov
- eCFR versioner XML captured at ingestwww.ecfr.gov
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