Features

• All-in-one-frame solution for fast, “plug'n'play” installation
• Advanced process automation, perfect also for supperlattice deposition
• Oxygen resistant substrate heater with advanced temperature measurement, 1000°C
• Laser heating of substrate optionally available
• Flexible advanced target manipulator with cross-contamination shielding
• Vacuum chamber prepared for system upgrades (RHEED, plasma sources, OES/FTIR,…)
• SURFACE Fluence Control option, for 100% reproducible results
• Fully enclosed beam line for hassle-free, safe operation
• Turn-key delivery
• Advanced online support via internet

The Ultimate Oxide Prototyping System

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a versatile process for thin film deposition with the major advantage of stoichiometric material transfer from a target to the substrate. The SURFACE PLD-Workstation is the excellent prototyping and research system for thin films, providing easy access to new materials and especially to advanced oxide layers.

The PLD-Workstation integrates all components of a PLD system including laser and laser gas supply into one single rack. The compact design enables the most flexible use of the system and avoids many hardware installation efforts. All this is the key to an unbeatable versatility and opens the access to PLD even for users with no previous experience in PLD technology!

The PLD-Workstation delivers advanced deposition technology in a powerful and compact package – suitable for a wide range of applications. Despite all the built-in flexibility – safety is always a priority:

• Fully enclosed laser beam line with externally actuated mirror adjustments safely protects from exposure to UV laser radiation
• Laser and laser gas cabinet are permanently connected to an external exhaust line

The Vacuum Chamber: With Built-In Flexibility

The vacuum chamber is designed for research. It has spare flanges suitable for the most common in situ analytical tools or other system extensions:

• optical analysis methods: OES or FTIR
• RHEED
• mass spectroscopy
• additional deposition or plasma sources

In addition, two windows allow visual contact to the process from two different angles and two sides. The large front door gives full access to the major process components: target and substrate manipulator. The standard configuration provides a 2" substrate heater and a 4×2" indexed target manipulator. Heaters for 1" substrates and a laser heater are optionally available.

To adjust the process conditions, two mass flow controller channels for process gas supply into the chamber are standard. They enable automated control of the process atmosphere and pressure.

By the design of the target manipulator in connection with the control software, cone formation on the target surface is avoided and even wear of the target is guaranteed. The laser beam will hit each spot of the target under two different incidence angles, so cones affecting the stoichiometry of the ablated material cannot form.

To achieve even target wear, two different modes of target movement during deposition are available:

• Toggling: The target carousel moves back and forth in a continuous motion so that the laser beam hits the target at any radius from the target center. This mode is easy to set up, only the target diameter needs to be known.
• Scanning: The target carousel is moved so that the laser beam “writes” defined tracks on the target. Target rotation speed and track spacing are adjusted to match the laser spot size and repetition rate. This achieves a very even wear of the target surface.

SURFACE Fluence Control

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Laser fluence calibration screen of the PlumeMaster software
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Optionally, the PLD Workstation can be equipped with SURFACE Fluence Control. This feature greatly enhances reproducability of film depositions: Before each deposition step, the laser fluence is automatically calibrated and the pulse energy adjusted to maintain constant deposition conditions over time. For calibration, the target carousel is moved to a position that enables the laser beam to exit the chamber through a window opposite of the laser entrance window. An automatic safety shutter is opened, and a power meter can measure the pulse energy. This design ensures that the only additional optical component in the beam path during the measurement is the exit window. Normally this window is protected by the safety shutter and will stay clean for a long time. In this way, the true pulse energy arriving at the target can reliably be determined.

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Control Software

All SURFACE PLD systems are highly automated to control the whole deposition process. This ensures easy operation of the system. The PlumeMaster software is based on the proven Windows XP Professional operating system. Several process steps with individual settings can be combined into one deposition program. Intuitive process visualization, highly flexible data logging with data export, and self-test capability are additional features.

The supplied software also includes SURFWARE – the advanced customer support tool from SURFACE:

• Fast contact to the SURFACE support group
• Audiovisual support by SURFACE support engineers via internet (TCP/IP) and the integrated webcam
• The support engineer can remotely control the system while maintaining audiovisual contact
• Easy troubleshooting of hardware problems as well as customer issues with process programming
• Automated software update procedure via internet

PLD-Lab: Multiple Chambers, One Laser

If more throughput is required, several PLD-Workstations can be combined into a system sharing one laser. An extended beamline with automated mirrors then guides the laser beam to the required PLD-Workstation chamber. A laser server computer controls the laser and the beam lines automatically based on a request table, and deposition processes in the PLD chambers are delayed until the laser is available for the particular chamber.

System Specifications

Product Photos