AO 500, Compact Rapid Thermal Annealing System with dry running diaphragm pump

• compact table top annealing oven
• applications:
   - RTA processing
   - ohmic contact formation
   - diffusion processes
• operating temperature up to 500°C
• programmable control software with touch-screen user panel
• suitable for samples up to 12mm x 12mm
• connection for inert gas (Ar, N₂, etc.) or forming gas flushing
• dry running diaphragm pump included in delivery

The Compact Rapid Thermal Annealing System AO 500 is a complete, free standing table top annealing system with small footprint. The oven itself as well as all power supply and control hardware are housed in a compact 3U box.
It is used in combination with a dry running diaphragm pump which provides the necessary vacuum (down to 5 mbar) and is included in the delivery.

The purpose of the AO500 is to provide well defined heat treatment up to 500°C to small sized semiconductor material samples under precisely controlled conditions.
Applications of the AO 500 are thermal treatment processes such as rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of semiconductor samples, forming of electrical contacts and investigation of intermixing and temperature stability effects in semiconductors.

The built-in micro controller sets power and thus temperature of the heater plate, as well as it switches the gas supply and the external vacuum pump. All functions needed for operation of the oven are visualized and can be set on the touch screen display on top of the box.

Top view onto oven and control panel of the AO 500

In order to achieve clean and reproducible operation and to avoid sample contamination and oxidation during the heat treatment samples can be operated in inert gas (Ar, N₂, etc.) or forming gas (H₂/N₂ mixture) atmosphere (flush-mode, 10…1000mbar) or in vacuum (pumping-mode <5mbar).

Sample load and removal can easily be done by removing the glass pane on top of the oven. This large pane also gives easy optical access to the recipient. In this way it is possible to use a microscope for observing the sample during the annealing process.

The direct current driven heater plate is made of thin film Al₂O₃. Temperature measurement is done by means of a PT 100 sensor, which is in direct contact with the heater. This design allows precise temperature control and a rapid heating up of the heater due to minimized thermal inertia, and provides a low thermal load to the recipient.

Backside view of the AO 500 with
connections for power, gas and interfaces

Applications

Typical applications for the AO 500 Compact Rapid Thermal Annealing System are the following:

• general RTA sample processing
  
• elecrical contacts formation
  
• sample annealing for diffusion processes
  
• investigation of intermixing effects
  
• investigation of temperature stability
  

Every application requires a specific sequence of pumping, venting, flushing, ramping and holding steps, varied according to the requirements of the particular process. The internal memory of the integrated micro-controller allows the storage of 10 different user programs, each comprising up to 20 free definable steps.

The recipient of the AO 500 is equipped with additional electrical feedthroughs (max. current 1A, max. voltage 50V) which can be applied for in-situ resistance monitoring during the annealing process or I-V-characterization of the sample using the integrated contact pins.

A sketch of the hot plate is shown on the right.

(1)   contact area on backside
(2)   resistive heating via metal film on backside
(3)   temperature measurement (PT 100 sensor) on backside
(4)   sample to be placed in area marked by a dashed line (12mm x 12mm)

Sketch of the hot plate of the AO 500 recipient

Technical Data

 LAST UPDATE: FEBRUARY, 2008

© 2003 Dr. Eberl MBE-Komponenten GmbH