A California-based thin film coatings company approached us looking for assistance in adding ion assist to the deposition process of metal oxides in one of their existing chambers, hoping to place an ion source for maximum output and uniformity. The existing chamber, shown below, featured an atypical slightly offset rotation stage with an electron beam source and no flux masking.
We first analysed the placement of the electron beam source and a potential ion source for ion pre-clean and ion assisted deposition. Modeling the electron beam source and rotation stage verified that our generated model dimensions matched empirical data for uniformity across the substrate stage.
We next modeled the average beam dose and dose non-uniformity across the substrate stage for multiple ion sources. Using this data, we generated a overall merit function that combined the average beam dose and dose non-uniformity as a function of ion source position and tilt angle (shown above).
This analysis allowed our customer to purchase a smaller (and less expensive) ion source than they initially predicted, and no need to upgrade their vacuum pumping. By correctly positioning this ion source, our customer could consistently produce fully dense metal oxide multilayer coatings with less expense. If you have a similar project that RVS Consulting can help with, contact info@rydberg-vs.com.
