ECCN.DEV by Cancelli

3B991 Category 3B

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 3: Electronics

Reasons for control

Country chart

ControlColumn
AT applies to entire entryAT 1

List-based license exceptions

ExceptionAs stated in the entry
GBS N/A
LVS N/A

Items

  1. a. Equipment “specially designed” for the manufacture of electron tubes, optical elements, and “specially designed” “parts” and “components” therefor controlled by 3A001 or 3A991;
  2. 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:
  3. 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:
  4. b.1.a. Equipment for producing polycrystalline silicon and materials controlled by 3C001;
  5. 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;
  6. b.1.c. Crystal pullers and furnaces, as follows:
  7. 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;
  8. b.1.c.2. “Stored program controlled” crystal pullers having any of the following characteristics:
  9. b.1.c.2.a. Rechargeable without replacing the crucible container;
  10. b.1.c.2.b. Capable of operation at pressures above 2.5 × 10 5 Pa; or
  11. b.1.c.2.c. Capable of pulling crystals of a diameter exceeding 100 mm;
  12. b.1.d. “Stored program controlled” equipment for epitaxial growth having any of the following characteristics:
  13. 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;
  14. 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
  15. b.1.d.3. Rotation of individual wafers during processing;
  16. b.1.e. Molecular beam epitaxial growth equipment;
  17. b.1.f. Magnetically enhanced 'sputtering' equipment with “specially designed” integral load locks capable of transferring wafers in an isolated vacuum environment;
  18. b.1.g. Equipment “specially designed” for ion implantation, ion-enhanced, or photo-enhanced diffusion, having any of the following characteristics:
  19. b.1.g.1. Patterning capability;
  20. b.1.g.2. Beam energy (accelerating voltage) exceeding 200 keV;
  21. b.1.g.3 Optimized to operate at a beam energy (accelerating voltage) of less than 10 keV; or
  22. b.1.g.4. Capable of high energy oxygen implant into a heated “substrate”;
  23. 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:
  24. b.1.h.1. Batch types having either of the following:
  25. b.1.h.1.a. End-point detection, other than optical emission spectroscopy types; or
  26. b.1.h.1.b. Reactor operational (etching) pressure of 26.66 Pa or less;
  27. b.1.h.2. Single wafer types having any of the following:
  28. b.1.h.2.a. End-point detection, other than optical emission spectroscopy types;
  29. b.1.h.2.b. Reactor operational (etching) pressure of 26.66 Pa or less; or
  30. b.1.h.2.c. Cassette-to-cassette and load locks wafer handling;
  31. 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:
  32. b.1.i.1. “Chemical vapor deposition” equipment operating below 10 5 Pa; or
  33. b.1.i.2. PECVD equipment operating either below 60 Pa (450 millitorr) or having automatic cassette-to-cassette and load lock wafer handling;
  34. b.1.j. Electron beam systems “specially designed” or modified for mask making or semiconductor device processing having any of the following characteristics:
  35. b.1.j.1. Electrostatic beam deflection;
  36. b.1.j.2. Shaped, non-Gaussian beam profile;
  37. b.1.j.3. Digital-to-analog conversion rate exceeding 3 MHz;
  38. b.1.j.4. Digital-to-analog conversion accuracy exceeding 12 bit; or
  39. b.1.j.5. Target-to-beam position feedback control precision of 1 micrometer or finer;
  40. b.1.k. Surface finishing equipment for the processing of semiconductor wafers as follows:
  41. b.1.k.1. “Specially designed” equipment for backside processing of wafers thinner than 100 micrometer and the subsequent separation thereof; or
  42. 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);
  43. 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;
  44. b.1.m. “Stored program controlled” equipment using “lasers” for the repair or trimming of “monolithic integrated circuits” with either of the following characteristics:
  45. b.1.m.1. Positioning accuracy less than ±1 micrometer; or
  46. b.1.m.2. Spot size (kerf width) less than 3 micrometer.
  47. 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:
  48. b.2.a. Finished masks, reticles and designs therefor, except:
  49. b.2.a.1. Finished masks or reticles for the production of unembargoed integrated circuits; or
  50. b.2.a.2. Masks or reticles, having both of the following characteristics:
  51. b.2.a.2.a. Their design is based on geometries of 2.5 micrometer or more; and
  52. b.2.a.2.b. The design does not include special features to alter the intended use by means of production equipment or “software”;
  53. b.2.b. Mask “substrates” as follows:
  54. 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
  55. b.2.b.2. “Substrates” “specially designed” for X-ray masks;
  56. b.2.c. Equipment, other than general purpose computers, “specially designed” for computer aided design (CAD) of semiconductor devices or integrated circuits;
  57. b.2.d. Equipment or machines, as follows, for mask or reticle fabrication:
  58. 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”;
  59. 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
  60. b.2.d.3. Equipment or holders for altering masks or reticles or adding pellicles to remove defects;

Related controls

N/A

Notes

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.

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.

Note: 3B991.b.1.c does not control diffusion and oxidation furnaces.

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.

Note: 3B991.b.1.i does not control low pressure “chemical vapor deposition” (LPCVD) systems or reactive “sputtering” equipment.

Note: 3B991.b.1.j does not control electron beam deposition systems or general purpose scanning electron microscopes.

Note: 3B991.b.1.k does not control single-side lapping and polishing equipment for wafer surface finishing.

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.

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.

Note: 3B991.b.2.e does not control general purpose scanning electron microscopes except when “specially designed” and instrumented for automatic pattern inspection.

Note: 3B991.b.2.f does not control photo-optical contact and proximity mask align and expose equipment or contact image transfer equipment.

Note: For focused, deflected-beam systems(direct write systems), see 3B991.b.1.j or b.10.

Note: 3B991.b.3 does not control general purpose resistance type spot welders.

Source: eCFR, version 2026-08-01, retrieved 2026-08-20T04:04:59+00:00.