Inficon equipment

About Inficon

Inficon is a Swiss manufacturer of instrumentation, sensor technology, and process control software, with headquarters in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland. The company began in East Syracuse, New York, in December 1969, when scientists and engineers from General Electric and Syracuse University developed a halogen leak detector. INFICON Holding AG was incorporated in 2000 and is publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker IFCN, with no external parent company. Its product range covers vacuum measurement instruments, leak detection instruments, residual gas analyzers, thin film deposition monitors and controllers, gas analysis systems, and chemical identification systems. Notable product lines include the HAPSITE portable GC/MS, FabGuard process control software, quartz crystal microbalance deposition controllers, wide range vacuum gauges, and helium and halogen leak detectors. On Questpair, the catalogue carries listings from across this range, offered by verified suppliers and distributors. The sections below set out what the brand makes and what is listed here.

Inficon product lines and what they measure

The core of the range is vacuum measurement. Wide range vacuum gauges read pressure across many orders of magnitude, from near atmospheric down into high and ultra-high vacuum, and the measurement itself is what vacuum metrology is built on. These instruments are the reference that tells an operator whether a chamber has reached working pressure. Alongside them, residual gas analyzers identify the gas species left in an evacuated chamber, a mass spectrometric measurement used in vacuum diagnostics and in semiconductor process control.

Leak detection is the second line and the one the company started with. Helium leak detectors locate leaks by tracing a helium signal, and halogen leak detectors trace a halogen tracer gas, both used in leak testing of sealed systems, vacuum equipment, and gas lines. This class does leak detection as its own field, and the detectors are also used for quality testing of components where a sealed boundary has to be verified.

The thin film line covers deposition monitoring. Quartz crystal microbalance deposition controllers measure film thickness during deposition by reading the frequency shift of a coated crystal, the technique that makes thin film deposition repeatable in coating and semiconductor manufacturing. FabGuard software sits at the process control end of the same work.

Gas analysis and chemical identification

The analytical instruments carry the work furthest into chemistry. The HAPSITE is a portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, which means it separates a mixture by chromatography and then identifies the separated compounds by mass spectrometry. In a transportable form it performs the gas analysis and chemical identification that a fixed GC/MS performs in a laboratory, and it is also used for environmental monitoring and field chemical analysis where samples cannot travel to a bench. This is instrumentation aimed at identifying volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds on site. For a buyer whose work touches analytical chemistry, this is the part of the catalogue that overlaps with laboratory gas analysis and chromatography rather than with vacuum hardware.

On Questpair

The Questpair catalogue lists 212 Inficon items from 10 verified suppliers and distributors across 6 countries. The listings lean heavily toward second-hand stock: 89 percent of the listings are used. Prices run from EUR 19 to EUR 6.939, with the lower end covering sensor cables, gauge tubes, and individual components, and the upper end covering complete instruments. The spread reflects the mix of small serviceable parts and full analytical systems in the same catalogue.

Because gauges, controllers, and sensors are often sold as separate items, a buyer should read each listing for exactly what is included before ordering. Where a specific listing needs supporting documentation, Questpair specialists respond within one hour, and parts can be sourced via Questpair. A warranty is often possible and is arranged in consultation for the specific listing.

Questpair review of Inficon

Our take based on listings data and supplier feedback

Inficon occupies a specific position in the laboratory and process market: it makes the sensors and instruments that measure what happens inside a vacuum, rather than the vacuum pumps themselves. That focus shows in the Questpair catalogue, where the listings cluster around gauges, controllers, leak detectors, and the analytical systems built on gas analysis. For a buyer equipping or maintaining a vacuum system, the value of the brand page is that these parts sit together in one place.

The first point worth examining is breadth within a narrow field. Vacuum measurement instrumentation is not a single device but a stack: wide range gauges that read from atmosphere down to high vacuum, the controllers that drive them, and the residual gas analyzers that identify what gas species remain in a chamber. Across 6 countries and 10 verified suppliers and distributors, the catalogue carries components from across that stack. A buyer rebuilding a deposition tool, for instance, can look for a quartz crystal microbalance deposition controller and a vacuum gauge from the same maker, which matters because sensor cabling and signal conventions are often specific to the brand.

The second point is condition and price. Of the Inficon listings, 89 percent of the listings are used. For gauges and controllers this is a reasonable way to buy, because the sensing elements are serviceable parts and a used gauge head is a common replacement item rather than a one-time purchase. The pricing bears this out. Inficon prices run from EUR 19 to EUR 6.939. That lower figure covers small components such as sensor cables and individual gauge tubes; the upper figure covers complete instruments. A buyer should read a listing for exactly what is included, since a gauge controller and its sensor are frequently sold separately.

The third point is the analytical end of the range, and here the HAPSITE portable GC/MS is the clearest example. This is a field-portable gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer used for chemical identification of volatile and semi-volatile compounds, meaning it does in a transportable form what a benchtop GC/MS does in environmental monitoring and chemical analysis work. A used HAPSITE listing is a different buying decision from a gauge: it is a complete analytical system, and the buyer will want to confirm calibration state and what accessories accompany the unit. Where a buyer has to weigh a used instrument against a new one, the individual listing is the place to check, and a warranty is arranged in consultation for that specific listing.

Taken together, the catalogue reads as a working inventory for people who maintain vacuum and gas analysis equipment, with the deposition controllers and leak detectors that supported semiconductor and thin film work appearing alongside the measurement gauges. It is not a general lab marketplace in miniature; it is a focused set of instruments and sensors around measurement, detection, and identification.

**Vacuum and leak detection in one catalogue**

The Questpair catalogue combines Inficon's vacuum gauges, helium and halogen leak detectors, and residual gas analyzers, so a buyer sourcing for a vacuum system can match a gauge and a detector from one maker in a single search.

**A used-heavy listing base**

Of the 212 Inficon listings, 89 percent of the listings are used, which gives a buyer a deep pool of second-hand gauges, controllers, and sensor cables rather than only current-generation stock.

**A wide price spread across the range**

Inficon prices run from EUR 19 to EUR 6.939, a range that reflects the gap between small sensor components and complete analytical instruments listed by verified suppliers and distributors.