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Thermal Processing Systems
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Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA) System
Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) has become extremely important in the semiconductor industry. Substrates can be rapidly heated for recrystallization, activation, or diffusion to occur, and then rapidly cooled. The short time spent at high temperatures minimizes unwanted diffusion and also increases the maximum temperature possible for an anneal. A glass substrate can be RTAed at temperatures above its softening point, for example, without significant warping.
Our AET Thermal RX RTA machine is equipped with 18 quartz halogen lamps, which provide heating rates of up to 300 °C/sec. A computer is used to control gas flow and sample temperature, which is monitored by two thermocouples; both gas flow and temperature are programmable as a function of time. A maximum of 1350 °C can be reached. A thin-wall vacuum quartz chamber accomodates a 4" wafer.
Documentation: [PDF]
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Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) System
An AG Associates (now owned by Metron Technology) Heatpulse 8108 is currently being installed in the clean room facility. This equipment offers increased functionality over our AET, including 6" and 8" wafer handling ability, better temperature uniformity, quicker temperature ramp times, and the ability to connect up to six process gases.
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Box Furnace
Our Thermolyne 47900 box furnace was originally bought to sinter and densify phosphor powders and sputtering targets, an application for which it is still used. Additionally, the box furnace is used for furnace annealing of oxide-based phosphor thin-films for ACTFEL applications.
The Thermolyne 47900 can maintain temperatures of 1200 °C using resistive heating. The temperature is monitored by a thermocouple and is programmable via a computer controller. The temperature is approached and maintained very accurately by a fuzzy logic controller, although the furnace has no active cooling.
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Tube Furnace
The Thermolyne 21100 tube furnace is employed largely for furnace annealing of films under a controlled atmostphere, since gas can be flown through the quartz or alumina tube; powders are also sintered in the tube furnace when a special atmosphere is needed.
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