Custom furnaces for specific processes
and new materials
Custom systems for specialized thermal processes in research, development, and industrial production.
Process Conditions that Exceed the Capabilities of Standard Solutions
The processing of newly developed materials and the implementation of specialized processes place extremely high demands on process control, both during the laboratory and development stages and in subsequent industrial production.
Technologies for Demanding Thermal Processes
For complex thermal processes to succeed, parameters such as extreme temperatures, vacuum, overpressure, and a wide variety of gas atmospheres must be controlled with absolute stability and precision over periods of hours or days.
Key Technologies:
- High-temperature and vacuum technology
- Specialized gas supply and piping systems
- In-house process programming for maximum stability
What Makes Custom Furnaces So Demanding
Maximum Process Stability
We define pressure profiles, not just final values.
High-Temperature Technology & Material Selection
Choosing the right materials is critical to the system’s performance and longevity.
Safe Handling of Process Gases
Whether ultra-pure, toxic, or highly flammable—we design with the entire system in mind.
Engineering for Overpressure
We comply with all directives right from the initial design phase, ensuring seamless subsequent TÜV certification.
Suitable Processes for Custom Furnaces
Every custom furnace is designed to meet the exact physical and chemical requirements of your process. Typical thermal processes that we implement with our custom-built systems include:
Zone Melting
In this process, a narrow molten zone is moved through the material in a controlled manner. Since impurities dissolve better in the liquid phase than in the solidifying phase, they migrate along with the molten zone. The result is an ultra-pure material, perfectly suited for demanding applications in the semiconductor industry.
Degassing and Purification
Under high vacuum or defined inert gas atmospheres, materials are thermally treated to completely remove volatile impurities, trapped gases, or moisture. This prevents unwanted reactions during subsequent operation and ensures the absolute purity of the components.
Annealing
Targeted heating followed by controlled cooling relieves mechanical stress within the material (such as stress caused by prior manufacturing steps). The microstructure stabilizes, allowing desired material properties—such as hardness, toughness, or electrical conductivity—to be precisely adjusted.
Etching
This process is used for targeted surface modification or the removal of material layers at extreme temperatures. By using reactive process gases or vapors (such as hot KOH for SiC wafers), defects can be visualized, surfaces cleaned, or micro-fine structures precisely etched.
Synthesis
Thermal synthesis allows different raw materials to react with each other under precisely controlled pressure, gas, and temperature conditions to create entirely new material compounds. This often forms the process engineering foundation for developing novel high-performance materials.
Discover success stories about our systems
Find out how we efficiently put individual challenges in process engineering into practice:
Test- and Inspection System
- Test- and Inspection System
- • Automotive
Helium Leak Testing System
Test- and Inspection System
- Test- and Inspection System
- • Subsea
Deep-Sea Simulator
Test- and Inspection System
- Test- and Inspection System
- • Semiconductor
WaferVision HSM-200
Test- and Inspection System
- Test- and Inspection System
- • Automotive
Helium Leak Testing System
- 8 s helium leak detection cycle time per component
- 10⁻⁶ mbar·l/s detectable leak rate (helium)
- 5 bar test pressure with 10% helium
Zone Melting System
Industry Solutions
We Develop Solutions Tailored to Your Industry
Get Expert Advice
Do you have questions or are you unsure which system is the right fit for your requirements? No problem. We are happy to advise you personally and work with you to find the ideal solution for your application. Benefit from our years of experience, an honest assessment, and professional guidance — tailored to your needs and with no obligation.
Contact person
Michael Landgraf
Managing Director
- m.landgraf@aprotec-gmbh.de
- +49 9353 982460-11