Evaporation Rate Controller Parameters
CHA E-Beam Evaporator Operation Manual
Idle State | Preparing Chamber for Deposition | Preparing the Deposition rate controller | Setup | Evaporation | Appendix A | Other Manuals | Cryo Pump | User Level | E-beam picture
Idle state:
The idle state of the evaporator should be as follows:
- Chamber down and under vacuum
- Vacuum/Hoist switched to standby, the vacuum controller should always be set to automatic.
- Vacuum gauges off
- Power supply off
- Deposition rate controller off
Preparing chamber for Deposition:
- Switch the Vacuum/Hoist switch to the OPEN position. The Vent valve will automatically open, vent the chamber, and the hoist will raise the chamber.
- Set the pocket selector dial to the desired pocket number. The hearth will rotate until the proper pocket is exposed.
- Remove the planetary and load the wafers.
There are two types of wafer holders. One type places the
wafers flush with the planetary hemisphere for shadow masking processes
such as lift-off (2 planetaries - 12 wafer locations total) and the
other holds the wafers at approximately a 45 degree angle to the
planetary hemisphere (1 planetary - 6 locations total) for producing
conformal coatings over surface features.
- While the wafer holder planetary is off, place the material to
be evaporated inside the pocket. (Aluminum and Titanium will always
be in place.)
Make sure the pocket is clear of debris, use a vacuum cleaner
if necessary. Pocket 1 is dedicated to aluminum with 2% silicon, pocket 2
is dedicated to Titanium. All other materials must have a liner.
- After replacing the planetary with the wafers, make sure that
all items are clear of the chamber and switch the vacuum/hoist control
to STANDBY, then LOWER.
The system will automatically lower the chamber, rough pump the
chamber and then switch to hi-vac.
- Shortly after the system switches into high vacuum, turn on the chamber ion gauge by pressing the IG2 button on the pressure gauge controller. When IG2 reads < 5x10-6 evaporation may begin.
Preparing the Deposition rate controller:
Deposition run parameters may be set while the chamber is pumping down.
Definitions:
Film# - A film# represents a specific material. Each material requires a different set of deposition parameters.
Process - A process is a set of commands which direct the controller to deposit one or more films. Each process step consists of the mode, the film to be deposited, and the thickness of the film. In most cases only one film is used.
Layer - Layer numbers represent the number of film layers in a process. In most cases a single deposition is done so there will be only one layer. The Sycon rate controller can be programmed with 9 different processes each containing up to 99 steps. It also has storage for up to 9 different film parameter sets. For more information see the sycon controller manual.
Setup:
- Setting up a process. (Process 1 is programmed to deposit 5000 ?
of Aluminum, film #1, and should not be changed.)
- Press MENU then 3. This places the controller in Process Review mode.
- Press Menu and then the process number to edit. (2 - 9)
- Edit the process.
In most cases the process will consist of two steps. The first specifies which film will be deposited and how much. The second step is END. Assuming this is the case, use the down arrow to advance the cursor to the film column. Enter the desired film number. (After the first key is pressed, the computer will ask for the security code) Then advance to the thickness column and enter the desired thickness in K.
Note: Level 1 users must use existing film parameters. Film parameters may be changed only by Level 2 users and above.
- Press Menu then MENU to return to the Runtime Display
- Activate the Process:
- Press MENU, then 2. You will be asked to enter the security code.
- Type in the security code, press ENTER
- Type in the number of the process you wish to activate. This will activate the process and return to the Runtime Display.
Level 2 Users and above
New materials should be characterized with the assistance of a superuser. - Set up the film parameters. (Level
2 users and above)
- Press MENU then MENU.
- Enter the edit code.
- Press MENU then 1 then the number
of the film to edit.
Most film numbers will be assigned to a certain material, these are
listed in Appendix A.
- Scroll through the menu and adjust the necessary parameters. A list of the parameters can be found in the controller manual.
Evaporation:
Once the system has been pumped down to < 5x10-6 Torr and the controller has been programmed, the evaporation may begin.
- Turn on the main power supply. This is located on the large gray box next to the e-beam.
- Switch the shutter control to AUTO.
- Switch the rotation control to AUTO. Make sure that the rotation direction and speed are set. The direction is controlled by a switch with three positions, Forward/Brake/Reverse. The speed is controlled by a switch with low and high positions and a dial giving analog control of the speed.
- Switch the pocket selector switch to manual (the auto mode is not installed on this system) and confirm that the proper pocket is selected.
- Switch the filament on. This is done by switching the Gun Control switch to the on position. Verify that there is filament current. Verify that the beam position is set to about 0 in the longitudinal direction and about 0.25 in the lateral direction. This is roughly the center of the pocket.
- Turn the key on the High Voltage controller to on. Switch on the high voltage, hold the switch in the on position for a second or two to ensure that it is on. The high voltage should be set to about 10KV.
- Press START then 4 on the rate
controller, this may need to be done
up to 3 times until the controller is switched into start mode.
There are three possible states for the controller. Busy, when the process is running or an error has occurred. Resting and Stop are the intermediate states. The controller must be in Stop to change processes.
- Monitor the beam, adjusting the beam position so that the beam is
in the center of the melted material. The controller will automatically
open the shutter to begin the deposition.
Note: Materials that sublime or that have unusual characteristics may only be done by level 2 users and above.
When the process is done, the controller will automatically close the shutter and bring down the power.
- Allow 10 to 15 min. for the target to cool down. (Metals will cool faster that dielectrics of course.)
- Turn off the high voltage and turn the key to the off position.
- Turn off the Gun Control (filament current).
- Switch the Vacuum/Hoist switch to Standby. Wait until the light on the FORELINE switch comes on, then switch the Vacuum/Hoist switch to OPEN. The chamber will now vent and automatically raise up.
- Remove wafers, targets, etc.
- Place the system into idle
Appendix A
| Film # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Al | SiO2 | Cr | Au | Ag | Ti | Open | ||
| Density | 2.73 | 2.20 | 7.20 | 19.3 | 10.5 | 4.50 | |||
| Z Factor | 1.080 | 1.070 | 0.305 | 0.381 | 0.529 | 0.628 | |||
| Tooling | |||||||||
| Start Xtal | |||||||||
| Setpoint Thk Lim | |||||||||
| Setpoint Time Lim | |||||||||
| Soak 1 Pwr Value | |||||||||
| Pwr Ramp 1 Time | |||||||||
| Pwr Soak 1 Time | |||||||||
| Soak 2 Pwr Value | |||||||||
| Pwr Ramp 2 Time | |||||||||
| Pwr Soak 2 Time | |||||||||
| Soak 3 Pwr Value | |||||||||
| Pwr Ramp 3 Time | |||||||||
| Deposit Rate | |||||||||
| Rate Ramp Mode | |||||||||
| New Dep Rate | |||||||||
| Rate Ramp Time | |||||||||
| Rate Ramp Trgr | |||||||||
| Ctl Loop -P- | |||||||||
| Ctl Loop I- | |||||||||
| Ctl Loop -D- | |||||||||
| Max Power Limit | |||||||||
| Abort Max Pwr Sw | |||||||||
| Max Power Dwell | |||||||||
| Xtal Fail Mode | |||||||||
| Ctl Loop Qual | |||||||||
| Xtal Stability | |||||||||
| Xtal Life Bounds | |||||||||
| Plot Vert Scale | |||||||||
| Plot Horiz Scale | |||||||||
| Data Plot Type | |||||||||
Other Manuals: Room 2136 Kemper Hall has the following manual: CHA Industries High Vacuum Evaporation System