LAB EQUIPMENT
ETCHING
Reactive Ion Etcher (RIE): Trion Minilock III
KEY FEATURES:
Generates plasma for dry etching of a wide range of materials
An ICP source allows higher density plasma to increase etch rate and anisotropy
A load lock allows users to exchange samples without venting the chamber, increasing safety and decreasing the chance of contamination
The system is fitted for 100 mm wafers, but can accommodate smaller samples mounted on a 100 mm wafer or up to 200 mm wafers with a simple modification
Process gases include argon, oxygen, chlorine, boron trichloride, carbon tetrafluoride, and sulfur hexafluoride
KEY APPLICATIONS
Etching silicon-based materials (e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon), metal films (e.g., aluminum), and other substrate materials (e.g. gallium arsenide)
Using a photoresist or hard etch mask, can transfer an etched pattern to the substrate
Stripping resist or other organic material using oxygen plasma
Plasma Cleaner: Plasmatic Systems Plasma-Preen
KEY FEATURES:
Generates oxygen plasma with variable power (50-700 W)
Timing and microwaves for generating plasma provided by a conventional microwave oven
Water cooled
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Plasma removes organic material from surface
Typical for cleaning a substrate prior to, or following, fabrication steps to ensure proper deposition, bonding, etc.
LITHOGRAPHY
Electron Beam Lithography System: Raith Pioneer
KEY FEATURES:
Beam size (resolution) ≤ 2.5 nm (≤ 1.6 nm)
Minimum feature size ≤ 20 nm
Field stitching ≤ 50 nm (mean+2σ)
Overlay accuracy (alignment) ≤ 50 nm (mean+2σ)
Laserstage travel range 50x50x25 mm
High-resolution SEM imaging
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Quantum physics, e.g. transport measurement of nanostructures
Nanoelectronics, e.g. spintronics
Nanophotonics & integrated optics, e.g. defect mode photonic crystals and quantum cascade laser
Plasmonics
Metamaterials
NEMS/MEMS
Nanofluidics
Nanobiotechnological or nanomedical devices, e.g. sensors, diagnostics, lab-on-a-chip
Electron Beam Lithography System: Raith Pioneer
Maskless Lithographic System: Intelligent Micro-Patterning SF-100 XPress
KEY FEATURES:
Mercury arc lamp with 6-position filter wheel provides 365 nm or 434 nm exposure for compatibility with most commercial photoresists, polyimides, and SU-8
Integrated CCD camera for standard optical functions and autofocussing
Fully automated XYZ stage
Labwindows™-based software integrates all system functions
Rapid prototyping of new designs and ideas without the need for costly photomasks
0.5 μm feature size in high-resolution mode, 3 μm feature size in low-resolution mode
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Patterning sub-micron features
Standard lithography processes
Photolithography on non-standard or uneven substrates
Maskless Lithographic System: Intelligent Micro-Patterning SF-100 XPress
Photolithography Mask Aligner: Neutronix-Quintel NxQ4006
KEY FEATURES:
A 350 W UV lamp (Hg arc) exposes photoresist on a substrate through a standard glass mask down to sub-micron resolution
Accepts 100 mm wafers, 50 mm wafers, or smaller pieces (including glass slides) down to 2 mm
Accepts 5” square masks (can accommodate larger masks, but not larger substrates), and a custom modification allows printed Mylar masks
Can expose in pressure contact, vacuum contact (thin substrates only), or separation (proximity) modes
Semi-automated sample loading brings the substrate into contact with the mask and self-levels with the push of a button
Lamp power can be adjusted to control light intensity
Dual monitors allow easy alignment of mask and substrate
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Patterning photoresists with sensitivity in the g-, h-, and i-lines (365-436 nm), which includes most common types (e.g. Shipley 1800 series, AZ nLOF2000 series, and SU-8 series)
Photolithography Mask Aligner: Neutronix-Quintel NxQ4006
Lithography Sample Preparation: laminar flow hood, spin coater, and baking plates
KEY FEATURES:
The Design Filtration Inc. Laminar Flow Hood houses a Polos SPIN150i Table Top Spin Coater, a PMC Dataplate digital hot plate, and optionally a Torrey Pines Echotherm HS61A Programmable hot plate
Laminar flow hood:
6-ft hood with overhead HEPA filter and modular deck plates
Nitrogen spray gun in deck
Deionized water from faucet
Spin coater:
Unlimited number of programs with unlimited steps
1-12,000 rpm in 1 rpm steps, ± 0.1 rpm accuracy
CW or CCW spin direction
30,000 rpm/s max spin acceleration
Polypropylene body with full-size touchscreen display, drain, and air purge
Up to 160 mm diameter or 100 mm x 100 mm square substrate
PMC hot plate:
7”x7” aluminum plate
Up to 1500 rpm magnetic stirring
Up to 375 ˚C plate temperature
Digital display
Torrey Pines hot plate:
12”x12” aluminum plate
Up to 1500 rpm magnetic stirring
Up to 400 ˚C plate temperature
Built-in timer with alarm and auto shut-off
Fully programmable with multiple steps and temperature ramping
Digital display
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Coating of substrates with resist for photolithography or e-beam lithography
Coating of devices with dielectric or insulating materials
Chemical cleaning of devices (e.g. RCA-1 clean)
Heat drying of samples
Lithography Sample Preparation: laminar flow hood, spin coater, and baking plates
DEPOSITION
Physical Vapour Deposition (Sputter): Lesker PVD 75
KEY FEATURES:
Two DC and one RF sputter sources up to 300 W each can deposit up to three different materials without losing vacuum
Argon and/or oxygen process gases
Turbo pump can bring the chamber down to <1 μTorr (<100 μPa)
Deposits thin films (~5-1000 nm, depending on application) on a substrate
Substrate heater up to 350 ˚C
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Depositing conductive materials for multilayer microchip fabrication, microelectronic circuits, MEMS, etc.
Depositing composites to form thin layers of functional materials
Common materials are aluminum, chromium, nickel, and titanium, but a wide variety of metallic and non-metallic materials are possible
Physical Vapour Deposition (Sputter): Lesker PVD 75
Physical Vapour Deposition (Evaporator): Thermionics 3 kW Linear e-Gun
KEY FEATURES:
3 kW electron beam source
Cryogenic pump can bring the environment to <1 μTorr (<100 μPa)
Evenly deposits thin films (~5-1000 nm, depending on application) on a substrate
Accepts 100 mm wafers or smaller fragments
Individually addressable crucibles for depositing up to three different materials without losing vacuum
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Depositing conductive materials for multilayer microchip fabrication, microeletronic circuits, MEMS/NEMS, etc.
Common materials deposited are aluminum, gold, and chromium, but a wide variety of metallic and non-Metallic materials with appropriate vapour pressure are possible
Physical Vapour Deposition (Evaporator): Thermionics 3 kW Linear e-Gun
Chemical Printing System: Sonoplot/GIX Microplotter II Nanoliter Printer
KEY FEATURES:
Noncontact deposition
Feature size down to 5 μm
Viscosities up to 450 cP
True contiguous lines, arcs, and bends
Consistent spot size and shape, within 10%
3-axis positional with 5 μm resolution
Integrated digital video capture
Automated surface calibration
Software for full automation and control
CAD layout tool
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Printed electronics
Rapid prototyping
Graphene/carbon nanotube printing
Additive repair
Polymer microstructure fabrication
Chemical Printing System: Sonoplot/GIX Microplotter II Nanoliter Printer
MICROMACHINING
Picosecond Laser Micromachining System: Oxford Lasers A Series
KEY FEATURES:
Diode-pumped solid-state laser, 355 nm, 400 Hz, 6 ps pulse
Class 1 laser enclosure
150 x 150 mm motorized travel XY stage
10 μm resolution X & Y
50 mm manual travel Z stage
10-15 μm spot size
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Laser cutting, drilling, and ablation on a variety of materials, such as semiconductors, glass, metal, polymer, and ceramic
Rapid prototyping for MEMS and microfluidic devices
Post-processing microelectronic and optical components
Picosecond Laser Micromachining System: Oxford Lasers A Series
CHARACTERIZATION
Stylus Profilometer: Bruker DektakXT
KEY FEATURES:
Diamond-tipped stylus with user-programmed scan length, speed, and force
Step height reproducibility of < 1 nm
100 mm x 100 mm manual stage with up to 55 mm scan length
Accommodates samples up to 50 mm thick
Digital camera aids in alignment of stylus
Vision64 software aids in surface profile characterization
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Measuring height of resist on a substrate
Measuring thickness of material deposited by physical vapour deposition
Measuring the depth of etching by RIE or wet chemical etching
Measuring the roughness of a surface
Stylus Profilometer: Bruker DektakXT
Optical Microscope: Carl Zeiss Axio Imager A1m
KEY FEATURES:
Fitted with 10x eyepieces and 5x-100x objectives (50-1000x magnification)
Brightfield, darkfield, polarization contrast, and differential interference contrast (in circularly polarized light) techniques in a reflected light configuration
Camera and associated software allows photo capture and calibrated measurement
KEY APPLICATIONS:
Examining substrates and deposited coatings
Imaging designs written on a substrate by laser micromachining, photolithography, or e-beam lithography
Optical Microscope: Carl Zeiss Axio Imager A1m