Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions marks 60 years of leak detection

Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions is marking 60 years since the commercialization of its first helium leak detector, the ASM 4, and is using the anniversary to highlight a broader portfolio for industrial and scientific leak testing. The company also introduced the ASM HVM for mobile, high-sensitivity testing in semiconductor and other clean environments.

Why it matters: - Leak detection is a core control point for product quality, process reliability and safety in industries where contamination or leaks can cause costly failures. - Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions is positioning its leak detection business around long-term demand in semiconductors, batteries, medical devices, hydrogen and data center cooling. - The anniversary underscores six decades of development in tracer gas leak detection, along with a broader set of technologies now offered to customers.

What happened: - Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions, a member of the Busch Group, is celebrating 60 years of leak detection expertise. - The milestone marks 60 years since commercialization of the company’s first helium leak detector, the ASM 4. - The company traces the origin of that work to Annecy, France, in the 1960s, when a nuclear research and development hub requested a highly sensitive tightness-testing solution for isotope enrichment equipment. - Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions introduced the new ASM HVM in its anniversary year.

The details: - The ASM 4 used mass spectrometry with helium as tracer gas to solve leak-testing requirements that existing methods could not meet. - The early challenge included preventing contamination such as moisture in demanding nuclear-related processes. - Pfeiffer’s leak detector portfolio has evolved through close collaboration between vacuum technology and leak detector development teams. - The company says that connection has helped improve performance, cleanliness and robustness over time. - Earlier products focused on compact, easier-to-use systems such as the ASM 10 while keeping high detection sensitivity. - In the 1980s, turbomolecular vacuum pumps replaced diffusion vacuum pumps and liquid nitrogen traps, making leak detectors faster and easier to operate. - In the 1990s, automatic calibration and dry primary pumping were introduced for needs such as semiconductor manufacturing. - The ASM 142 became one of the company’s best-known leak detectors, followed by later generations designed for high performance, ease of use and robustness. - Pfeiffer leak detectors are used for vacuum-insulated products, medical devices, battery manufacturing, semiconductor production, industrial quality assurance, maintenance and research and development. - The ASM HVM is designed for reliable, high-sensitivity helium leak testing of medium test volumes in semiconductor manufacturing, R&D and other industrial environments. - The ASM HVM combines a turbomolecular vacuum pump and a dry scroll backing pump for fast, oil-free testing. - The ASM HVM is suitable for cleanroom use. - The ASM HVM includes a compact ergonomic design, a rotatable and removable color touch display and an integrated toolbox. - Clotilde Lesigne, Head of Product Management Leak Detection at Pfeiffer, said the company has continuously shaped tracer gas leak detection over the past 60 years and is addressing customer needs for clean, mobile, ergonomic and high-performance testing solutions with the ASM HVM. - Pfeiffer also offers Optical Emission Spectroscopy solutions for CCIT applications and Micro-Flow technologies for air-based leak testing. - Customers can access application expertise, feasibility studies and contract leak testing services through the company’s worldwide network of application laboratories.

Between the lines: - Pfeiffer is pairing a historical milestone with a product launch to show continuity between its legacy technology and current market needs. - The focus on clean, mobile and oil-free testing reflects broader manufacturing requirements, especially in semiconductor and cleanroom settings. - The expansion beyond tracer gas leak detection suggests Pfeiffer is building a wider leak-testing platform rather than relying on a single technology.

What's next: - Pfeiffer expects future demand from data center cooling, battery manufacturing and the hydrogen economy to create new requirements for reliable leak testing. - The company plans to continue evolving its leak detection portfolio and application support as those markets develop. - Customers are expected to rely on Pfeiffer’s application labs and feasibility support to match technologies to specific leak-testing needs.

The bottom line: - Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions is using 60 years of leak-detection history to reinforce its role in markets that need cleaner, faster and more precise leak testing.