• main system with chamber
• • vacuum control unit: automatically pumps down and vent the process chamber

Venting the chamber and loading sample

1. Switch the MAN VENT / AUTO toggle on AUTO and press AUTO STOP
2. Wait until pressure is about 7.4e2 Torr or more and open the chamber and you will hear the N2 flow sound, switch the MAN VENT / AUTO toggle on MAN VENT to stop N2 flow.
3. Unload the sample holder by rotating it counter clock wise and set it on the top of the tool using the PVC union
4. Secure your sample on the holder and load the holder in the machine
5. If the glass slide is at the top view port hasn't been replace, place a new one.

Crucibles

1. Verify using the magnet at the top of the electronic rack that the needed material are loaded in the turret.
2. Verify the amount of materials in crucible liner, If a change of material is needed, ASK STAFF TO PERFORM IT. USERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CHANGE CRUCIBLE BY THEMSELVES
3. Update the magnet position to reflect what is in the tool
4. Verify that there is NO foreign materials (paper, debris, etc) on the Chamber O-ring
5. Close chamber and press AUTO START button. The tool will go into an automatic sequence of pumping starting by roughing out the chamber with the mechanical pump and when the reaching 70mTorr, the HIVAC valve will be opened allowing the cryogenic pump to bring the tool to high vacuum stage.
6. Wait for base vacuum to be reached: 5e-6 Torr or lower if higher purity is needed
7. When useing Cr, please wait for vacuum to be reached at 1e-7 range to start, in order to avoid suddenly pressure rise to accidenly shut down filemant during Cr sublimation

DO NOT TURN THE FILAMENT ON WHILE THE VACUUM LEVEL IS ABOVE 5e-5 Torr. FILAMENT WILL LIKELY BURN.

Check point before pump down and operation

1. Glass slide need to change?

2. Enough materials left in crucible for you deposition?

3. Is current material in crucible right one for your deposition?

4. Do a complete rotation of crucible turret in Clockwise, to make sure the rotation is correct.

NB: When your deposition time is more than 30 minutes, please break the deposition into 2 or more cycles. The sample holder is very hot after long time deposition.

Deposition

1. Using the Motor Controller toggle, switch the rotation ON (local)
2. Using the inficon indexer located in the electronic module, rotate the assembly to match the material you want to deposit. Always use the CW button
3. Choose a process from the Deposition Controller. Report to Process Table to find and choose the wanted process.
4. Edit each layer to verify/change wanted Final thickness. Do not edit rate or other parameters
5. The Deposition Controller should be in automatic mode: press the AUTO/MANUAL until AUTO is on top
6. Verify the sweep pattern corresponds to the first film to be deposited. Refer to Film Table.
7. Start the sweep by pressing on SWEEP ON and DC component. IMPORTANT: the beam won't be able to be turn on if those two button are not ON
8. Gun ready will turn green on the source controller
9. Start beam emission by pressing the ON button on the source controller: emission current should be roughly at 12A
10. Wait 30s for the filament to warm up
11. Turn on high voltage using the MDC power supply. Tune the voltage to match the one needed for the first deposited film
12. Press start on deposition controller and then press start layer.
13. The power (%) will rise to setpoint 1 and soak for determined amount of time to allow the material to melt slowly.
14. Using the Shutter toggle switch located on the front left of the system, set it to open
15. Verify in the top view port that the beam is well inside the pocket and not hitting outside. If you see the beam hitting outside, adjust the Yoffset sweep parameter. In case of doubt, stop the process immediately and seek for assistance
16. If the beam is alright, switch the shutter toggle back to AUTO
17. After soak1, the tool will go in rise2 and soak2 to bring the metal to the preset evaporation rate
18. After soak2, the shutter will open and the controller will keep the rate steady while measuring the total thickness
19. During deposition, fill the logbook with the film material, target thickness, rate, power, process# and current. PRESS <<STOP LAYER>> IF ANY ISSUE ARISES WITH THE BEAM
20. When the target thickness is reached, the shutter will close and the power will be ramp down automatically

Switching material

DO NOT EVER ROTATE THE POCKET WHILE THE BEAM IS ON

1. switch off the high voltage by pressing RESET on the MDC power supply
2. turn off the filament
3. turn off the sweep
4. Wait for complete cool down of the pocket: no glow should be seeable from the viewport (3' min)
5. Rotate the crucible to select new material and start new deposition: go to step 6

Venting chamber and unloading

1. Turn of rotation of substrate by switching the Motor Controller toggle back to OFF position
2. Switch the MAN VENT / AUTO toggle on AUTO and press AUTO STOP
3. Wait until pressure is 6.9e2 Torr or more and open the chamber and switch the MAN VENT / AUTO toggle on MAN VENT to stop N2 flow
4. Unload the sample holder by rotating it counter clock wise and set it on the top of the tool using the PVC union
5. Remove your sample on the holder and load the holder in the machine
6. Place a new glass slide at top view port
7. Close chamber and press AUTO START or use the manual pumping sequence in case AUTO START doesn't work.

Manual vent and pump down

In case of issue with the automatic pump down sequence:

Manual Pump Down