Angstrom Engineering Evovac Evaporator
| Angstrom Engineering Evovac Evaporator | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Equipment Details | |
| Technology | PVD |
| Materials Restriction | Metals |
| Material Processed | Ag, Al, Au, Cr, Cu, Ge, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ti, Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2, Ta, Mo, V |
| Sample Size | 6", 4", 3" and 2" wafers, pieces |
| Equipment Manual | |
| Overview | System Overview |
| Operating Procedure | SOP |
| Supported Processes | Supported Processes |
| Maintenance | Maintenance |
The Angstrom Engineering Evovac is a combination electron beam evaporator and thermal evaporator used to deposit Ti, Cr, Au, Al, Ni, Pt, Ag, Cu, Pd, Ge, Al2O3, SiO2, Ta, Mo, TiO2 and V with the ability to heat the substrates and do in-situ substrate cleaning using an ion mill. It is an open loop box coater with a dome that can run multiple wafers and substrates in each run. The Angstrom engineering supports 8 materials at once and 3 pockets allow material rotation so it is the most flexible evaporator and backup for most of the other evaporator films.
All the e-beam evaporators in the LNF are setup using small point sources and long throw distances that lead to very directional deposition with minimal heat transfer. The “line of sight” nature means that evaporated films have poor gap fill but make the tool ideal to use for lift-off applications. The evaporators in the LNF use thin films controllers with quartz crystal monitor feedback. These controllers pre-heat the source materials with the shutter closed. Then, during deposition, the controller uses the feedback from the crystal monitor and varies the e-beam or thermal power to maintain a steady, preset deposition rate and to determine the total evaporation thickness.
Contents
Announcements
- July 2024 - Pt is now not in a crucible - bumped max accumulated thickness to 40000A
- July 2024 - Updated DOP to inform users to consider changing crystal if they are running thicker, high-stress films
- June 2022 - Bumped Pt max thickness up to 3500A
Capabilities
- Multi-wafer lift-off evaporator
- Medium deposition rate (1-5 Å/sec) metal and dielectric films on multiple wafers
- Designed for low heat transfer and minimal sidewall coverage for liftoff applications
- Stacks of multiple films can be run
System Overview
Hardware Details
- Cryo-pumped box coater capable of low 10-7 Torr base pressure in 1 hr of pumping
- Reactive gasses or heating up to 250C.
- 8x15cc pocket E-beam gun and 2 thermal sources to allow 10 different materials to be deposited in one run
- Large distance from source and curved substrate dome designed for lift-off applications
- Dome rotation and curved uniformity plate to allow for better uniformity
Substrate Requirements
- 2”, 3”, 4” and 6” wafer holders available as well as clip fixtures for smaller pieces
- Tool holds 4x4” or 4x6” wafers or 4x6" fixtures.
Material Restrictions
The Angstrom Engineering Evovac Evaporator is designated as a Metals class tool. Below is a list of approved materials for the tool. Approved means the material is allowed in the tool under normal circumstances. If a material is not listed, please create a helpdesk ticket or email info@lnf.umich.edu for any material requests or questions.
Supported Processes
- Angstrom Engineering Films:
| Material | E-beam Pocket | E-beam Max thickness | E-beam Max Deposition Rate | Thermal Max thickness | Thermal Deposition Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium (Ti) | 1 | 1 µm | 10 Å/sec | TBD | TBD |
| Chromium (Cr) | 2 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | 500 Å | 3 Å/sec |
| Nickel Ni | 3 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Gold (Au) | 4 | 1 µm | 7 Å/sec | 500 Å | 3 Å/sec |
| Aluminum (Al) | 5 | 2.5 µm | 12 Å/sec | 2000 Å | 2 Å/sec |
| Platinum (Pt) | 6 | 3500 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Palladium Pd | 6 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | 200 Å | 1 Å/sec |
| Silver Ag | 7 | 1 µm | 10 Å/sec | 2000 Å | 2 Å/sec |
| Copper Cu | 7 or 8 | 1 µm | 5 Å/sec | 200 Å | 1 Å/sec |
| Tantalum Ta | 7 | 5000 Å | 3 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Molybdenum Mo | 7 | 1000 Å | 2 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| GermaniumGe | 8 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Alumina Al2O3 | 8 | 2000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Silicon Dioxide SiO2 | 8 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Titanium Dioxide TiO2 | 7 or 8 | 5000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
| Vanadium V | 7 | 2000 Å | 5 Å/sec | N/A | N/A |
- Any combination of these films can be run as long as they are setup for the right pocket combination. They are run 1 at a time using the Inficon software.
- In the evaporators, maximum thickness numbers are total thickness of that material per run and is determined by stress or material availible. If you run multiple layers of the same material, the total sum thickness of those layers must be below the maximum.
- Each of the materials has a standard Inficon film program outlined on the AE Evap Process Parameters page.
- If you have a material deposition need that is not listed, check to see if this material is deposited on on another PVD tool or see more about options for running your own private material on the LNF PVD Films page.
Standard Operating Procedure
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Checkout Procedure
How to get access to this evaporator:
- Complete the online PVD Rise Training (this only needs to completed once so if you are authorized on another PVD tool or evaporator, you do not need to do it again.)
- Read through this Wiki page and the Operating Procedure above.
- Create a Helpdesk Ticket requesting training
- A tool engineer or user services member will contact you for a training session.
- Practice with your another authorized user until you are comfortable with tool operation.
- Schedule a checkout session with a tool engineer via the helpdesk ticket system. If this checkout is successful, the engineer will authorize you on the tool.
Maintenance
The Angstrom Engineering Evaporator is opened for scheduled maintenance:
- Once a week and the gun area is cleaned and shutter is replaced.
- The chamber dome, sidewalls, shutters and covers are cleaned with foil replacement as needed (approximately once every 2-4 months.)
- Tool leak checks, pumping speeds and film characterization are done periodically or when major tool changes are done.
- Cryo absorbers are replaced once every 3 years.
Tool Pumping Performance
Pumping speeds and Leak-up rates vary based on chamber sidewall deposition and outside conditions such as humidity and time tool was open.
Angstrom Engineering pumping speed - tool crosses over to hi-vac in 6-7 minutes at 90mT
Process Characterization
Power Bump Recovery
The only maintenance that users are allowed to perform is power interruption recovery.
- In the event of a power interruption, the PLC should retain the current tool status and typically a cryo regen is not needed.
- Follow the power bump section of the Angstrom Engineering Evaporator Startup and Shutdown Procedure
