Sourcing semiconductor wafer bonders from China

Duty and classification for wafer bonding machines

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 October 2026, heading 8486 covers semiconductor and display manufacturing machinery and its parts. All supplied lines carry 0% duty from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duties, suspensions or attached import controls. Import VAT is normally 20%.

For a bonder used to manufacture semiconductor devices or integrated circuits, check 8486 20 00 00 against its actual function. The other rows identify neighbouring machinery categories and parts, rather than interchangeable codes for a complete bonder. Confirm the commodity code using the process description, wafer stack and equipment drawings. See the wider equipment guide for the whole heading.

Specify the wafer stack and bonding process

State whether you need temporary carrier bonding, permanent bonding or both. Describe wafer materials, diameter, thickness, bow, surface preparation and any patterned surfaces. Identify the bonding method and agree limits for alignment error, bond voids, strength and wafer damage. Ask the supplier to demonstrate the proposed recipe on your own samples.

Agree the temperature and force profiles, vacuum conditions, atmosphere, chuck design and loading method. Match power, cooling water, exhaust, gases and cleanroom interfaces to the installation site. Define recipe access, software licences, calibration records, spares and the site acceptance test before ordering.

For supply in Great Britain, machinery must satisfy essential health and safety requirements, undergo the necessary conformity assessment, have a declaration of conformity and carry the relevant conformity marking. Request the technical file arrangements and check that the declaration identifies the supplied machine.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 3 semiconductor wafer bonding machines for a pilot production line under 8486 20 00 00, invoiced at £450,000 free on board, with £15,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £465,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £465,000, so it is £93,000. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Bond results: run the agreed wafer stack and inspect alignment, voids, bond strength, edge damage and repeatability against the acceptance criteria.

Process control: compare recorded temperature, force and vacuum traces with the agreed recipe; check chuck cleanliness, wafer handling and calibration records.

Safety and documents: check guards, interlocks and emergency stops through agreed functional tests; match the machine identity, conformity marking and declaration to the supplied configuration.

Arrival and installation: inspect crate condition and shock indicators, check stages and chucks for damage, verify utilities and repeat the acceptance run at the buyer's site. Use the inspection guide to plan the checks.

What goes wrong

A demonstration on clean blank wafers can hide problems with patterned, bowed or thin production wafers. Misalignment, trapped particles, uneven heating and unsuitable chucks can leave voids, weak bonds or cracked wafers. Tie acceptance to your actual materials and retain the process traces and inspection results.

Transport can disturb stage alignment, while incompatible utilities or locked recipes delay commissioning. Refurbished machines may have worn seals or undisclosed component changes. Agree a component inventory, software access and an installation test before shipment; do not accept a successful factory demonstration as the final site acceptance.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For machinery and equipment, see machinery imports.