DCA completes ET4US machine with a new 200 mm oxide tool at IBM Research Laboratories

DCA Instruments has developed as a part of European Union ET4US project a new cluster tool type MBE system for 200 mm wafer size. ET4US stands for "Epitaxial Technologies for Ultimate Scaling". ET4US project develops a new technology for mainstream high performance logic devices based on high mobility semiconductor channels, advanced gate stacks and compliant semiconductor-on-insulator substrates. This ET4US link provides further information on this project. The dual chamber system includes a 200 mm (or 4 x 4") III-V MBE system and a 200 mm SiGe MBE system. The system is installed at IBM Research Laboratories in Ruschlikon, Switzerland.

In December 2006 DCA extended the ET4US installation with a third growth chamber, this time for 200 mm oxide epitaxy. All three growth chambers are connected together and to various other process chambers using two UHV cluster tools connected together.

DCA Instruments has received orders for five MBE systems

DCA Instruments has received orders for five MBE systems from customers in the United States and Asia. The orders include three P600 MBE systems for II-VI and GaAs epitaxy, an R450 oxide MBE system and a P1000 MBE system for solar cell research. The P600 system is an R&D and small scale production system for 4” (3 x 2”) substrate size. The R450 model is a 3” R&D system. The P1000 is a production MBE system optimized for 200 mm (or 4 x 4”) substrate size.

Advances in Oxide Epitaxy

Oxide MBE system order from ANL

DCA’s leading position in the oxide MBE field was further strengthened by an order from Argonne National Laboratory (IL, USA) for an oxide MBE system. The research team lead by Dr. Anand Bhattcharya and Dr. Stephen Streiffer at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory will use the unique ozone assisted MBE system for the growth of a range of complex oxides. The MBE system is highly customized version of the DCA R450 MBE and includes ten differentially pumped effusion cells and an e-gun allowing a very wide range of material combinations to be studied.

200 mm oxide MBE installation completed at IBM

DCA has extended the ET4US installation at IBM Research Laboratories in Ruschlikon, Switzerland with an additional oxide MBE growth chamber. The new growth chamber is optimized for 200 mm wafer size. The system includes extensive substrate preparation facilities and a fully automated wafer transfer system based on a UHV robotic wafer handler.

New tools for oxide epi

DCA's strong commitment to advance oxide epitaxy continues with new product development. DCA has recently introduced a laser heating system option for sample manipulators. This allows very high temperature deposition (up to 1400 ^oC) at high oxygen partial pressures.

Work is also going on to develop a completely new ozone delivery system which will include extensive safety automation and fully automated performance.

The new ozone delivery system will be available as a retrofit system to existing MBE systems during summer 2007.

New Carbon Nanotube Deposition System

DCA Instruments has developed a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system for Carbon nanotube (CNT) deposition. The first system has been delivered to the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The deposition system includes a UHV chamber with substrate manipulator, plasma source and a gas manifold. Standard DCA linear sample transfer system is used for substrate loading and unloading. The linear sample transfer system allows the CNT chamber to be connected to various DCA deposition systems including MBE, PLD and sputtering chambers. This allows substrate and catalyst preparation in a dedicated deposition chamber followed by substrate transfer under UHV into the CNT chamber. The CNT system is a flexible research tool which provides the possibility to study the deposition of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on various substrates and catalysts.

New 4x4" MBE System

We have expanded our MBE system range with a new cluster tool type MBE system for III-V epitaxy. The P1000 system is a fully automated multiwafer production system. The system is designed for high-volume production of epiwafers used in electronic and optoelectronic device fabrication. The design allows two growth chambers to be connected to the cluster tool to increase throughput.

Additional modules for substrate preparation
can also be connected to the cluster tool.

The growth chamber is designed for easy
and fast cryo panel clean-up. The source
flange can be lowered on a movable trolley
giving excellent access to the source flange
cryo panel and to the main cryopanel.

The growth chamber is also available in a
GaN configuration either using a 4x4" platen
or single 200 mm Si substrate. The chamber
has twelve source ports for high capacity
effusion cells and valved crackers.

Laser Heated Sample Manipulator

It is difficult to reach very high sample temperatures at oxidizing environment using conventional resistive heaters. The new laser heating system provides an optimal solution to this problem. The system consists of a heavy duty manipulator with XYZ-stage, azimuthal sample rotation, sample stage for up to 15 mm x 15 mm sample, 140 W diode laser and focusing optics. The laser beam is focused through a window onto the sample backside. Therefore only the sample is heated leaving other sample stage construction materials relatively cool. The laser heated sample manipulator is UHV compatible and can be used with a RHEED system.

Depending on the sample size and material, temperatures up to 1,500 ^oC can be reached. A pyrometer can be integrated into the optical set-up allowing temperature measurement from the backside of the sample. The samples are attached to sample holders which can be loaded through a load locked system.