Ion Beam Etch & Deposition System - Ionfab300Plus

Ion Beam range offers functionality in multiple modes:

• Ion Beam Etching (IBE)
• Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE)
• Reactive Ion Beam Deposition (RIBD)
• Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etching (CAIBE)
• Ion Beam Sputter Deposition (IBSD)
• Ion Assisted Sputter Deposition (IASD)

Flexibility in a single tool

• Handles from small pieces, through 100 mm (4 inch), up to 200 mm (8 inch) wafers
• Ability to clamp any shape, and design unique carrier plates
• Wafer handling options
• Manual loading for one-off trials
• Load-lock for faster trials
• Cassette-to-cassette loading/unloading for batch production
• Clusterable with other process tools including Oxford Instruments’ PlasmaPro plasma etch, deposition and sputtering tools, and FlexAL atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool
• Simple upgrade options to add etch and deposition sources

Ion Source

• Leading ion source and grid set technology
• Grids are designed to suit specific applications: high uniformity, high rate, & low energy
• Specific deposition grid sets to suit multiple targets, offer superior utilisation of target material
• A full range of etch source options up to 35cm
• Dual beam configurations (etch plus deposition source) offer the possibility to add capping layer immediately after etch, without exposing the process chamber or wafer to atmosphere
• Increased deposition rates by using etch source as a plasma radical source (IASD)

• Tiltable substrate holder can be angled from -90° up to +75° (depending upon configuration)
• Enables ‘blazed’ gratings
• Allows sidewalls to be cleaned off or etched
• Angle control of substrate relative to deposition target ensures excellent deposition uniformity

Platen rotation speed

• Variable platen rotation speed enables deposition rate to be controlled specifically for the application
• Standard and high speed platen options

Substrate cooling

• Prevents degradation of substrate and devices structures/other materials already in place
• Option for wafer backside cooling with He (turbo-pump) or Ar (cryo-pump)

Process monitoring

• Etch endpoint monitoring by SIMS for multi-material applications
• Deposition process monitoring
• Crystal monitor (single or dual head)
• White Light Optical Monitor (WLOM)
• Chamber gas identification, partial pressure control and leak checking via RGA

Typical applications and materials:

• IR detectors
• CdHgTe (CMT) etch
• VOx deposition and etch
• Metal contact and track etch
• Cu, Ni, Al…
• Noble metals: Au, Pt, Pd…
• Diffraction gratings

• SiO2 ‘blazed’ etch
• Spintronics and MRAM
• AR and HR coatings for laser bars
• Telecom filters
• III-V photonics etching
• Thin film magnetic hard disk heads (TFMH)