Template:News - Older Articles

Oxford PlasmaPro ICP Etcher installed

We have a new ICP etcher in Bay 2: Oxford_ICP_Etcher_(PlasmaPro_100_Cobra)

The tool has been qualified for InP Ridge and InGaAsP Grating etches, and is intended for III-V etching in general (GaAs, GaN, GaSb etc.)

In addition, the tool is capable of Atomic Layer Etching on various materials. Contact the supervisor for training. // John d 11:27, 29 September 2021 (PDT)

SiO2 etching, High-Aspect Ratio

Dr. Bill Mitchell recently published an article detailing high-aspect ratio SiO2 etching (JVST-A, May 2021) in the Plasma-Therm Fluorine ICP etcher, using a novel Ruthenium Hard Mask.

Ruthenium can be deposited using the Oxford ALD or AJA Sputter and etched in one of the Panasonic ICP's.

You can find a full process flow at the FL-ICP's Recipe Page, in this case using a Sputtered Ru hard mask and I-line stepper lithography. // John d 08:05, 27 May 2021 (PDT)

Wafer Polisher available

We have added an Allied Wafer Polish tool to our equipment list. Contact Bill_Millerski for more information. // John d 16:49, 10 May 2021 (PDT)

Digital Microscope: Olympus DSX-1000

You'll see a new digital microscope in Bay 4/Metrology, that's our new Olympus DSX-1000. We are currently developing procedures, keep an eye out for training emails. // John d 13:49, 8 April 2021 (PDT)

Raith Velion: FIB/SEM Installation

We have installed a new state-of-the-art focused ion beam/electron beam tool in Bay 1. The Raith Velion enables synchronized interferometric stage, Focused-ion Beam Lithography with ~10nm features or less, live SEM during writing, and Electron-Beam Lithography.

Learn more about the tool's capabilities at the Raith website:

• Raith Products: Velion.
• VIDEO: Synchronized FIB beam + Laser Interferometric Stage write, with live SEM

Tool qualification is currently underway. Dr. Dan Read is the resident expert on this new tool.

// John d 06:53, 30 November 2020 (PST)

Heidelberg MLA-150: Delivery Scheduled for Sept.

Our Heidelberg Maskless Aligner (MLA150) will be installed the week of September 21st 2020! This tool enables flexible I-Line lithography, in which a user can align to arbitrary features (eg. 2D materials, quantum dots), upload a CAD file to write a pattern without ordering a mask plate, grey-scale lithography and continuous auto-focus on non-planar substrates.

Learn more about the tool at the Heidelberg Instruments website:

• Maskless Lithography: Direct Writing Basics
• Heidelberg MLA150

// John d 11:41, 14 September 2020 (PDT)

TechTalk: Dr. Renan Moreira & Grégoire Coiffard

Tech Talks on Thurs Dec 5th, in ESB room 1001 (click for more info):

12n: Dr. Renan Moreira, ULL Technologies: “Ultra-low loss photonic integrated circuits based on Si3N4 waveguides”

1245pm: Grégoire Coiffard, Mazin Group, Physics Dept. UCSB, “The fabrication of 20,000 pixel kinetic inductance detector arrays for near-IR to visible astronomy” // John d 11:03, 5 December 2019 (PDT)

New Plasma Asher Installation

A new YES EcoClean Plasma Strip/Descum System is being installed, for controlled photoresist etching & residue stripping. We will make an announcement when the system has been qualified and is ready for use. // John d 11:03, 7 August 2019 (PDT)

Rapid Thermal Annealer Installed

We are installing and qualifying a new SSI Solaris 150 Rapid Thermal Processor. We will make an announcement when the system is ready and trainings are scheduled. See the SSI RTP Wiki Page here. // John d 12:03, 28 May 2019 (PDT)

S-Cubed Spin/Coat/Dev Station Installation

We are currently in the process of installing a Cube system for automated Spin Coating, Baking, Developing and Edge-Bead Removal on 4-inch and 6-inch wafers. Initially this tool will be solely purposed for Staff and the use of the sponsor, primarily for ASML DUV Stepper wafer prep. As procedures are developed, the system will be opened up for use by all ASML Stepper users, and may eventually be opened for I-Line stepper use as well. // John d 12:10, 20 February 2019 (PST)

Filmetrics Optical Measurement Systems

A Filmetrics F10-RT for optical reflection/transmission spectra, and a Filmetrics F50 thin-film wafer-mapping system have been installed. Contact Ning Cao for more info. // John d 15:24, 12 December 2018 (PST)

KLA Tencor Profilometer Installed

We have installed a new KLA Tencor Stylus Profilometer, that has been installed in Bay 4. Contact Brian Lingg for training. // John d 17:28, 12 September 2018 (PDT)

Laser Endpoint Monitors

We've installed new Intellemetrics LEP500 Laser Endpoint Detection monitoring on the DSEiii & ICP#2 & ICP#1 etchers. This allows you to terminate your etch at a calibrated/modeled distance into a layer, and removes the need to calibrate etch rates for most processes. // John d 09:26, 17 July 2018 (PDT)

Metal Processes on the Atomic Layer Deposition

We now have Ruthenium (Ru) and Platinum (Pt) metal depositions developed on the Oxford FlexAL ALD tool. See the Atomic Layer Deposition: Recipes page or contact Bill Mitchell for more information. // Posted: 16:07, 01 June 2017 (PST)

New Deep Silicon Etcher Online

A new Plasma-Therm Versaline DSE III DRIE etcher has been qualified for bosch etch and single-step etches, and is available for use. The new tool features much higher silicon etch rates, improved uniformity, and allows for photoresist up to the edges of the wafer. An Intellemetrics LEP500 laser end point monitor has also been installed on the system. // Posted: 22:16, 27 November 2017 (PST)

2016 Survey Results

See the May 2016 User Survey Results. // Posted: 12:00, 01 May 2016 (PST)

CAIBE Ion Mill Available

The CAIBE (Oxford Ion Mill) is up and running! Contact Brian Lingg for more information. // Posted: 12:00, 01 July 2015 (PST)

NanoFiles SFTP Online

Files generated with Nanofab tools (SEM images, AFM profiles, etc.) are now available on the nanofab SFTP server. Please check SignupMonkey for details. // Posted: 12:00, 07 July 2013 (PST)