PVD Products PLD 3000 User manual

Nanoscale Fabrication & Characterization
Facility
PVD Products PLD 3000 Deposition system
User Guide
PVD Products PLD-3000 System with dual wafer
loadlock and Class 4 Coherent 110F series COMPex
Pro excimer laser. The laser is UV with a 248nM
wavelength, The system has an ultimate vacuum on
the order of 1.1 x 10
-7
.

Operation Procedure:
1) Sign out key to room 620 from NFCF staff. It is kept
in the NFCF office area of the sub-basement on a
large copper ring.
2) Requests to change the target configuration must be
made at least 48 hours in advance to allow for the
work and system vacuum recovery. E-mail NFCF
staff as far in advance as possible.
3) Log into the PLD through FOM.
4) Turn the laser control switch on the power
disconnect panel near the door to “on”. This enables
the interlock for both doors in the lab. In the event
of the either door opening the laser will lose
complete power.
5) Laser safety glasses are in the top right drawer and
must be worn to avoid laser contact with the eyes.
6) Turn on the laser with both the red main power and
the control key located on the back of the laser. This
will start the laser warm up process.
7) Note the system pressure before venting the load
lock. It should be near or below 5e-7 Torr. If it is
not, document the pressure in the FOM system and
e-mail the NFCF staff with details of the problem.
8) Make sure the gate valve is closed and vent the load
lock by selecting the “Chamber control” tab and
select load lock vent under “pump sequence”.
9) Once the load lock is vented, insert your sample
(upside down) and holder into the load arm. Make
certain the holder is in the recess, with the hole
centered and facing toward you. The notch will be
facing away. There is a holder for a full 3-inch
wafer, a 2-inch wafer, and 2x2 cm samples. There is
also a plate with clips that can be used with the 2 –

inch wafer holder. All holes must be covered to
prevent coating the lamps!
10) Do not leave the system venting/vented. It must
be pumping unless you are loading the samples.
Leaving the system venting drains the N2 bottle!!
11) Pump the load lock by selecting the “Chamber
control” tab and select load lock pump under “pump
sequence”. Do not over tighten the door or it
will leak!
12) Once the load lock has achieved a pressure lower
then 5e-5 Torr fully open the manual valve to the
chamber.
13) Carefully insert the transfer arm until your sample
is centered in the chamber side window.
14) Make certain the heater enclosure is in the “up”
position and the sample holder is in the “load”
position.
15) Carefully release the wobble stick. The pressure
difference will pull it onto the chamber so maintain a
strong grip. Do not let go!
16) Carefully use the wobble stick to pick up the
holder and transfer it from the load arm to the
process holder. The pin must be completely inserted
to support the holder. Turning on the chamber light
and shutting off the room lights can help you to see
for alignment purposes during this process. It takes
some practice, but you will get it.
17) Once the sample is transferred, lock the wobble
stick back into position, remove the load arm and
close the gate valve fully. You will feel it cam into
place when fully closed.
18) Close the heater housing and set the sample to
your desired position height. This is not controlled

from the recipe and must be completed
manually from the “Main” tab window.
19) Check the laser manual control panel and verify
that the laser has completed its warm up cycle and is
ready for use. Press the run button on the control
panel to allow control with the PLD software on the
laptop.
20) HEAT: If using heat in your process, press the
power supply enable button on the side of the
machine below the computer, then hit the “start”
button on the Magna-power electronics heater power
supply.
21) Load/modify the desired recipe.
22) Notes for process creation:
a. Target and substrate rotation set point must be
set on the “Main tab before saving the recipe.
b. All other parameters are set on the “Recipes”
tab.
c. If using heat, remember to enable the power
supplies and press the green start button on the
Magna-power electronics controller.
d. Prior to processing, set the heater enclosure to
the “down” position.
e. Set the desired target to substrate height.
f. The recommended raster parameters for 2 inch
targets are below:
Mirror Position = 9000 Raster Type = Mirror Offset = 0
Position: Velocity:
11000 10
13000 20
18000 150
20000 20
22000 10
20000 20
13000 150
11000 20
9000 10

23) Press start from the “Recipe” tab window and
watch the actual readings from the “Main” tab.
24) Remember to wear eye protection when looking
into the laser path, looking into the chamber or
looking at the plume of the deposition process
25) Once the process is complete, move the heater
housing to up and the sample position to load by
pressing the appropriate button in the software.
26) Turn off the heater power supply enable.
27) If using heat, allow significant time for the sample
to cool. It will be HOT!
28) Open the load lock gate valve and insert the load
arm to line up with the wobble stick.
29) Move the sample from the sample holder to the
load arm.
30) Lock the wobble stick.
31) Move the load arm to the load lock and close the
gate valve fully.
32) Turn off the chamber light.
33) Vent the load lock and remove your sample.
34) Pump down the load lock.
35) Turn off the laser key, main power and the switch
on the power panel.
36) Log out of FOM.
37) Return the key to the NFCF staff in the Sub
Basement.