The Denton Explorer is a six pocket e-beam evaporator system used to coat samples with various metals. A high-intensity beam of electrons is focused on the center of a crucible containing the material to be evaporated. In a typical process, the chamber is pumped down to a pressure of 3e-6 Torr to increase the mean free path. The mean free path of a gas molecule is the average distance the molecule travels before it collides with another molecule. This prevents air molecules from interrupting metal atoms as they travel from the evaporation source to the substrate. Then, the metal is heated to the point of vaporization by a high-intensity beam of electrons. This causes the metal to evaporate, and the metal molecules travel in a straight line to be deposited on the substrate. Typical deposition rates range from 0.5 to five angstroms per second.  Endpoint detection is implemented through the Inficon XTC/2 quartz crystal rate controller interfaced to a programmable logic controller. New users will initially be limited to 3 angstroms per second for the maximum rate. Unlike sputtered films, evaporators only coat the surface facing the source. E-beam evaporators will provide very little coating to the sides of any features that are perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.

Institute	Georgia Tech
Department	IEN - Micro/Nano Fabrication Facility
Sub Tool Of	Marcus Inorganic Cleanroom

 

Machine Specifications and Data

Machine Specifications:

• Standard Materials Available: Ti, Cr, Au, Pt, Ni, Fe, Ag, Al, Cu, Mo, SiO2, Al2O3
• Approved Substrates: Si, Glass, Pyrex, Quartz
• Can Hold 6 different sources
• Utilizes Ar Gas for Ion Assisted Deposition

Metallization Calibration Data: (Updated Jan 2020)

	Z-Ratio	Tooling Factor
Ti	0.628	208
Cr	0.305	250
Ni	0.331	204
Fe	0.349	168.8
Al	1.08	150
Au	0.381	183.48
Cu	0.37	164
Ag
Pt	0.245	170
SiO2	1	208
Al2O3	0.336	378
Bi	0.637	150