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Deposition rates and film thicknesses can be precisely measured in the coating chamber during
deposition using the Quartz crystal technology. INFICON has contributed fundamentally to this
technology for many years. Based on decades of experience INFICON offers a
comprehensive range of sensors and controllers enabling measurements of
rates and thicknesses under almost any conditions.
Monitors and controllers
All Quartz crystal monitors and controllers by INFICON use the patented ModeLock® technology.
Compared with the conventional technology it enables substantially extended life times leading
to higher process safety and, of course, to lower operation cost. Furthermore, the ModeLock
technology offers a higher sensitivity and a higher stability particularly under critical
measurement conditions.
XTM/2
If deposition rate and rate are only to be measured and a rate control is not necessary the
economic rate monitor XTM/2 can be used. It operates with all sensors offered (except the
CrystalSix) and features trigger points which may be used to shut off the coating source or
initiate other system functions once the set film thickness is reached.
For external communication the XTM/2 features I/O relay contacts and an RS232 interface plus,
as an option, an IEEE488 interface.
XTC/2
Very often the deposition rate not only has to be measured but has to be precisely controlled
to a preset value. A good deposition rate controller will work in a wide band of deposition
situations with the correct setting of the control parameters. This requires mature control
electronics as well as excellent reliability.
The deposition controller XTC/2 features internal PID logic which allows for an adaption of
the control characteristics to most deposition sources available. These may range from very
slow thermal sources with high thermal inertia to very fast electron beam evaporators.
The XTC/2 operates with all sensors offered. It has two sensor inputs which can alternatively
be used for source control.
For external communication the XTM/2 features I/O relay contacts and an RS232 interface plus,
as an option, an IEEE488 interface.
The combination of advanced instrument features and versatility and a very reasonable price
makes the XTC/2 one of the most widely used deposition controllers. |
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IC/5
The deposition rate controller IC/5 is the flagship of the INFICON instruments. It offers two
independent rate control channels which, of course, can be used with all sensors offered. Up to
3 optional sensor input cards enable a total of 8 sensors, any two of which can be used for
source control. These allow e. g. for an on line measurement of the rate uniformity over large
substrate carriers or calottes.
To simplify the precise adaptation of the PID controller parameters to the characteristics of
the deposition sources used the IC/5 offers the AutoTune function. It can perform this adjustment
(almost) automatically.
To enable precise measurement of rate and thickness in multilayer systems, particularly at higher
film thicknesses, the IC/5 offers the AutoZ® function. This function permanently determines the
effective acoustic impedance Z during deposition. Z is used in the programmed formula to
calculate the real film thickness from the measured frequency change of the Quartz crystal
and becomes very important with increasing film thickness.
The IC/5 has a large memory where the specific parameters of numerous coating materials and
specific process parameters for single layers and complex layers systems using these materials
may be stored. A floppy disk drive is available as an option. Data logging on any PC is
possible with the optionally available data logging software package.
Furthermore, the IC/5 offers numerous and also extendable I/O?s and relay contacts which can be
freely programmed. Based on the stored library of logical functions the IC/5 may be used to
control complete deposition systems. |
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