Semiconductor Process Equipment Monitoring

Device scaling demands real-time monitoring and control of entire plasma etch and deposition chambers. ICMTek's FBG multipoint sensors address the most critical monitoring challenges that conventional thermocouples cannot: RF and microwave interference degrades thermocouple signals inside plasma chambers, and thermocouple wiring architectures limit the number of sensing points to 3–5. A single ICM-1000 interrogator with 16 channels can monitor over 1,000 sensing points across an entire multi-chamber tool cluster.

Key monitoring applications include chamber lid and showerhead temperature and strain — avoiding ceramic cracking as RF power increases; ESC and pedestal temperature uniformity with 50–100 radial and azimuthal points for CD uniformity improvement; edge ring and focus ring temperature for wafer edge process control; precursor and exhaust gas line temperature along the full run of piping from a single fiber; and chamber wall temperature for plasma chemistry control and flaking prediction.

Semiconductor plasma etch chamber equipment
Structural health monitoring and pipeline applications

Structural Health Monitoring & Leak Detection

  • Off-shore marine structures: continuous acoustic emission monitoring of mooring cables and risers for crack and load-based strain detection. Mooring line failures occur on average every 9 years despite a 25-year design life — ICMTek's FOAE sensors provide the early warning that prevents catastrophic events.
  • Oil and gas pipelines: patent-pending leak detection for gas and liquid lines using a single fiber strand deployed over kilometers with no electrical power required at the sensor.
  • Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV): impact and crack detection validated in NASA STTR testing at White Sands facility, with FBG acoustic emission sensors demonstrating performance comparable to conventional PZT sensors while eliminating the wiring complexity and EMI sensitivity.
  • Aerospace structural components: corrosion and crack monitoring for airframe and rotor blade structural health management, awarded under NAVAIR SBIR programs.

ICMTek's optical sensing platform addresses high-value monitoring problems across multiple industries where passive, EMI-immune, multipoint sensing creates decisive advantages over conventional electrical sensor approaches.

Power Utilities: Patent-pending arc detection for transformers and wires, including flapping detection in overhead power lines. FBG sensors operate in high-voltage environments where electrical sensors are inherently dangerous or unreliable.

Medical: Patent-pending cancer detection applications and stress and flow measurement inside surgical and diagnostic instruments. The small size and biocompatibility of optical fibers — approximately 100 µm in diameter — make them uniquely suited for minimally invasive sensing applications.

BEV Charging and FCEV/T Refueling Systems: Charging system health monitoring with direct interface to vehicle computers for pre-charge fingerprinting, power quality assessment, and cloud-based data capture for dealer maintenance history. These capabilities reduce insurance exposure, cut the cost of ownership, and increase customer satisfaction through proactive maintenance notification.

Across all markets, ICMTek deploys its Fiber Optic Acoustic Emission (FOAE) platform — combining multiparameter, multiplexed measurements of acoustic signals, strain, pressure, and temperature over long distances on a single fiber strand. Passive sensors require no electrical power, are immune to EMI and electrostatic interference, and are easily embedded inside composite materials or custom structures without affecting structural performance.

Industrial monitoring applications