Urgent replacement of a power supply of an electron-beam evaporator for thin films deposition

微米和纳米纤维技术涉及多个复杂的步骤，以努力制造具有高度再现性和质量的小型化结构和设备。在制造功能器件所必需的步骤中，薄膜（金属，介电材料）的沉积是任何微米和纳米级器件制造的核心。电子束（ebeam）沉积系统是在高真空环境下产生电子束并将其聚焦到待沉积材料上的设备。然后，该靶的原子被电子通量喷射，并沉积在产生微米和纳米结构的基底上。通过电子束的沉积提供了高度受控的沉积速率，从而产生均匀和原始的表面。这种技术允许人们在单个4”晶片的表面上构思和制造纳米级特征的集合。在典型的多步骤制造工艺中，在整个序列中重复使用电子束沉积系统。例如，在沉积金层之前，将由钛或铬组成的粘附层沉积到半导体表面上。在Western Nanofabetting Facility中制备的器件通常具有3层或更多层。层厚度取决于最终器件中层的作用，可以从几纳米到几百纳米不等。因此，高质量的电子束沉积系统是任何先进的纳米级制造工艺成功的关键。西部纳米工厂与4”晶片完全兼容，希望维修和升级能够处理这些晶片的电子束沉积系统。在西部纳米工厂中操作的本系统是开放式用户设备，并且是在20世纪80年代生产的。虽然蒸发器室和泵送系统处于良好状态，但与电子束枪的设置和聚焦相关的电源和电子设备已经过时，需要定期维护和修理，这与该仪器的广泛使用相冲突。这台仪器是纳米工厂最繁忙的机器之一。此外，其电子和安全操作按照当今的标准是过时的，这强调了迫切需要以比更换整个电子束光刻系统低得多的成本更换这些控制元件。新的光束控制和电源将为我们的研究人员提供先进的能力，以探索制造微米和纳米级器件的新方法。

Micro and Nanofabrication technologies involve multiple complex steps in an effort to fabricate miniaturized structures and devices with a high degree of reproducibility and quality. Among the steps that are essential to make a functional device, deposition of thin films (metals, dielectric materials) are central to any fabrication of micro and nanoscale devices. An electron beam (ebeam) deposition system is an apparatus where an electron beam is produced under high vacuum environment and focused onto the material to be deposited. The atoms of this target are then ejected by the electron flux and are deposited onto a substrate where the micro and nanostructures are produced. Deposition by electron beam provides a highly controlled rate of deposition resulting in a uniform and pristine surface. This technology allows one to conceive and fabricate a collection of nanoscale features over the surface of a single 4" wafer. In a typical multistep fabrication process, the electron beam deposition system is used repeatedly throughout the sequence. For example, an adhesion layer comprised of titanium or chromium is deposited onto a semiconductor surface prior to deposition of a gold layer. Devices prepared in the Western Nanofabrication Facility typically have 3 or more layers. Layer thickness depends on the role of the layer in the final device and can vary from several nanometers to hundreds of nanometers.***A high quality ebeam deposition system is therefore the key to the success of any advanced fabrication procedure at the nanoscale. The Western Nanofabrication Facility being fully compatible with 4" wafers, wishes to repair and upgrade an ebeam deposition system capable of processing these wafers. The present system operating in the Western Nanofabrication Facility is an open user apparatus and was produced in the 1980's. Although the evaporator chamber and pumping system are in good condition, the power supply and electronics associated with the settings and focusing of the electron beam gun are obsolete and requires regular servicing and repair which conflicts with an extensive use of this instrument. This instrument is one of the busiest machines in the Nanofabrication Facility. Furthermore, its electronics and safety operation are obsolete by today's standards, which emphasizes the urgent need for a replacement for these control elements at a cost much lower than replacing the entire electron beam lithography system. The new beam control and power supply will provide our researchers with advanced capabilities to explore new methods of fabrication of micro and nanoscale devices.