NIST CNST NanoFab Equipment
Metal Deposition

Certain commercial equipment, and software, are identified in this documentation to describe the subject adequately. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the NIST, nor does it imply that the equipment identified is necessarily the best available for the purpose.

Similar to the existing 4-Gun Denton Discovery 22 Sputter system with the following enhancements.

• Flex-type gun cathodes. This presents a 3rd axis of adjustment for uniformity tuning and angular plasma presentation.
• The heating element is no longer a quartz lamp. The calrod backside assembly is much more stable and the heating uniformity is greatly improved.
• The PLC control touch screen interface has been improved as PLC/HMI technology has improved. Also uses a Windows PC based system for recipe and data logging options.
• A three position throttle valve is used to limit conductance during sputtering.
• One magnetically enhanced gun has been added for ferro-magnetic materials significantly increasing the deposition rates.
• An option is being considered to obtain a rotating (Lazy-Susan type) of substrate chuck for optimum positioning of the substrate directly below the desired gun.
• Convenient for multilayers, superlattices, and unattended operation

• Metals: electrical contacts, dry etch masks, nanoplasmonics, magnetic materials
• Oxides, nitrides: electrical isolation, etching masks

• Unusual materials for biological applications such as hydroxyapatite
• 100 alternating layers 20nm a-Si/60nm Ag totaling 8 microns with excellent thickness control

This is a dual e-beam/thermal evaporator for the deposition of Au, Ag, Cu, Ni, Cr, Al, Ti, Fe, Co, W, Gd, Nb, Ta, permalloy, Si, and AL₂O₃.

• 6-pocket electron gun
• two electrodes for thermal sources
• wafers from 2" to 6"
• capacity: 4 wafers
• cryopumped with a base vacuum of 5E-8T
• uniformity shield yielding thickness uniformity of 4 % over 4" wafers.

This is a 4-source thermal evaporator. It is presently reserved for the deposition of Ti and Al on ultra-clean silicon and SiO2 wafers

• wafers from 2" to 6"
• capacity: 4 wafers
• cryopumped with a base vacuum of 5E-8T
• uniformity shield yielding thickness uniformity of 4 % over 4" wafers.

Equipped with two DC and two RF electrodes.

• Targets presently available: Al, Cr, Au, Pt, Ti, Cu, Zr, Gd, Co, Pt, W/Ti 90/10, Ag, Ni, Fe, Nb, Si, Ge, TiO₂, Si₃N₄, ITO, and SiO₂
• single wafer tool
• turbopumped with base vacuum of 2E-7
• thickness uniformity of 3 % over a 4" wafer.

• Metals: electrical contacts, dry etch masks, magnetic materials
• Oxides, nitrides: electrical isolation, etching masks