Nevada Nanotechnology Center - Facility - Science and Engineering Building Wet Lab for Micro/nano Fabrication and Advanced Material Characterization Processes

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The Science and Engineering Building wet lab houses equipment that is used in the micro/nano fabrication and advanced material characterization processes.

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Mask Aligner: OAI Optical Associates Inc, Hybralign Series 500

The mask aligner is a device used to align masks in the production of silicon wafers. This OAI Hybralign 500 Deep UV Mask Alignment & Exposure System features:

Zeiss split field alignment microscope

500W deep UV power supply

4-3/4 in. dia. exposure lens

2 in. chuck and 4 in. mask holder

Micrometer adjustment for alignment stage

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Bidtec SP100 Spin Coater

The Bidtec SP100 Spin Coater is used to deposit uniform thin films onto flat substrates. The features of this equipment include digital programmability with maximum spinning speed of 6000 rpm and the capability to hold 4" or 5" wafers.

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Thermo Neslab HX-300 Recirculating Chiller

The recirculating chiller is used to provide precise temperature control for semiconductor processes such as etching and deposition. The HX-300 is a versatile, highly configurable chiller that can go from a simple workhorse to a highly sophisticated chiller via the many options available. Its features include a stainless steel reservoir for high fluid compatibility; rugged pumps and an integrated flow control valve; user adjustable low and high temperature safety and low fluid level safety with visual alarm; choice of simple or sophisticated controller. This chiller has a thermal stability of +/- 0.1°C

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Lindberg Blue M Box Furnace

The furnace is used to perform thermal oxidation (produce a thin layer of oxide) on the surface of a wafer. Inside the furnace, the oxidizing agens diffuse into the wafer at high temperature and react with it. The furnace features a choice of digital single setpoint or programmable control instrumentation. This furnace uses energy efficient Moldatherm ® insulation with fully embedded heating element composites to minimize outer surface temperature while maintaining uniform heat distribution within the chamber. It has a maximum temperature rating of 1100°C.

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Blue M Inert-gas Furnace

This Blue M electric industrial furnace is capable of providing an inert gas atmosphere in the heating chamber. It has operating characteristics as follows:

Temperature range: 50°C above ambient to +593°C (+1100°F)

Uniformity: ±2% of setpoint

Control Accuracy: ±0.5°C

Resolution: ±0.1°C or 1°F

Run Time: 60 min.

Cool Down Time: 120 min.

Approx. Gas Flow Rates: Purge - 200 SCFH for 33 minutes, Run - 65 SCFH

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Chemical Fume Hood

The chemical fume hood is used when flammable solvents and/or highly reactive reagents are used during chemical synthesis processes. This ducted fume hood completely eradicates fumes from the workplace.

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Nuaire Biological Safety Cabinets, Class II Type B2

This biological safety cabinet combines the ventilation of a fume hood with the personnel and product protection of a biological safety cabinet. It features all stainless steel exterior and interior construction, flow through, 100% exhaust with no internal recirculation, internal microprocessor controlled air flow that controls and displays cabinet air flows.

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Buehler Ecomet Variable Speed Grinder, Polisher MPC 3000 Integrated Circuit Backside Grinder System

The MPC™ 3000 Series Grinder/Polisher performs loading, grinding, polishing, cleaning and drying of silicon and other semiconductor material wafers. Automated leveling features simplify alignment between die and abrasive surfaces to eliminate the tilt adjustment necessary with other systems. Other features include digital micrometer adjustment to control sample height for a positioning accuracy of ±2.5μm; diamond downstops which ensure removal of only the desired quantity of material; vacuum mounting of the specimen to facilitate easy sample inspection; and a corrosion resistant, precision lapped, stainless grinding wheel.

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Kulicke & Soffa Thermosonic Gold Ball Wire Bonder

This thermosonic gold ball wire bonder is used to make electrical interconnections between a microchip and the outside world in the semiconductor device fabrication process. Gold wire is used with this particular bonder, and the bonding processes use a combination of heat, pressure, and ultrasonic energy to make a weld at each end of the wire. The gold wire that can be used can have a diameter range between 18 to 76um. It comes with a Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom 4 Microscope (0.7X to 3.0X), a pair of 10X Eyepieces, and a heated workholder.

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From the top to bottom rack:

HP 4145A Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer

The HP 4145A has four programmable stimulus/measurement units capable of high resolution plus wide range sourcing and sensing (1 pA to 100 mA; 1 mV to 100 V). Other features: built-in graphics analysis functions including marker and cursor which provides direct numeric readouts and a line function for automatic calculation of line gradient and X-Y axis intercept values. The HP 4145A also includes a built-in flexible disc drive for permanent storage of user programs and measurement results.

Keithley 238 High Current Source Measure Unit

The 238 Source-Measure Units (SMU) is a fully programmable instrument, capable of sourcing and measuring voltage or current simultaneously. This system is really four instruments in one: voltage source, current source, voltage measure, and current measure. The key features and benefits are: four instruments in one (voltage source, voltage measure, current source, current measure); 10fA, 10μV measurement sensitivity; 1A source and measure; standard and custom sweep capability including pulse; 1000 source/measurements per second; four quadrant source operation; internal 1000-reading memory.
Keithley 590 CV Analyzer
The Keithley Model 590 C-V Analyzer measures capacitance versus voltage (C-V) and capacitance versus time (C-t) characteristics of semiconductor devices. High frequency (100kHz or 1MHz) C-V measurements are commonly applied to test p-n or schottky junction and Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) devices for device characterization and process control. C-V results are highly correlated with performance parameters of functional devices such as FETs, memory cells, CCDs, and isolation structures. Specifically, the Model 590 provides 0.1fF sensitivity to test small devices; ranges up to 20nF (at 100kHz, using the Model 5904 adapter) to test large, leaky, or forward biased devices; test signal voltage of 15mV rms; choice of 1MHz frequency for compliance with existing test standards or 100kHz for improved resolution, range, and accuracy; selectable measurement rate (1 to 1000 readings per second) and filter to optimize speed/resolution trade-of; sophisticated correction for transmission line errors due to device connections; built-in test setup and correction value storage, analysis, and plotter control to minimize computer programming; 100kHz, 1MHz, or 100kHz/1MHz test frequencies; measures capacitance (10fF-20nF) and conductance (0.1nS-1µS); internal correction for errors due to cables, connections, and switching paths; built-in test setup and correction value storage, analysis, and plotter control to minimize computer programming.

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From the top to bottom rack:

Keithley 428 Current Amplifier

The Model 428-PROG Programmable Current Amplifier converts fast, small currents to a voltage, which can be easily digitized or displayed by an oscilloscope, waveform analyzer, or data acquisition system. It uses a sophisticated "feedback current" circuit to achieve both fast rise times and sub-picoamp noise. The gain of the Model 428-PROG is adjustable in decade increments from 10³V/A to 10¹¹V/A, with selectable rise times from 2μs to 300ms.

Lakeshore 370 AC Resistance Bridge

The Model 370 AC Resistance Bridge is designed for precise, accurate, low noise, low excitation power AC resistance measurements. Its primary application is the measurement of resistive materials in cryogenic environments from 20 mK to 1 K. It features 16 channels, IEEE-488 and serial interfaces, and closed loop temperature control.
Stanford Research Systems Model SR850 DSP lock-in Amplifier
The SR850 is a digital lock-in amplifier based on an innovative DSP (Digital Signal Processing) architecture. The SR850 boasts a number of significant performance advantages over traditional lock-in amplifiers, higher dynamic reserve, lower drift, lower distortion, and dramatically higher phase resolution. In addition, the CRT display and 65,536 point memory make it possible to display and process data in a variety of formats unavailable with conventional lock-ins.

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Walker Magnet System with 1 ppm Resistance Bridge

This 3-Tesla iron core magnet from Walker Scientific allows magnetic characterization of nanomaterials. The magnet power supply is interfaced with LabVIEW via GPIB (IEEE 488.2) and can provide accurate magnetic field scans over wide ranges. The LakeShore Cryotronics resistance bridge allows 1 part per million change in resistance of the device. The following equipment is used at this station:

1. Walker Scientific HV-7H Laboratory Electromagnet

Capable of magnetic fields up to 3 Tesla

Variable air gap, from 0.0625" to 7.25" for maximum flexibility

2. Walker Scientific HS-1050-4SS Power Supply

Power supply for HV-7H electromagnet

Capable of up to 50 A and 100 V

3. Lakeshore Model 370 AC Resistance Bridge with 3716 16-channel scanner

Designed for precise, accurate, low noise, low excitation power AC resistance measurements

Resistance measurement ranges from 2 milliohm to 2 megohm

4. Walker Scientific MG-10D Gaussmeter

Uses Hall effect to measure magnetic fields

Resolution of 1 mT (10 mG)

5. Thermo NESLAB HX-300 Recirculating Chiller

Temperature range of +5°C to +35°C

6. Workstation with LabVIEW automation software and GPIB interface card

Interfaces directly with power supply, resistance bridge, and gaussmeter for control and data acquisition

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