Download Market Survey Request 1. SCOPE The deposition system specified

Market Survey Request
European Spallation Source ESS AB
Visiting address: ESS, Tunavägen 24
P.O. Box 176
SE-221 00 Lund
SWEDEN
www.esss.se
1. SCOPE
The deposition system specified here is primarily intended for producing 10B4C coatings for
neutron detectors. In the main, thin aluminum substrate sheets will be 2-side coated with
10
B4C by DC magnetron sputtering. It is prioritized to have a good control over deposition
fluxes, substrate temperatures, substrate rotation, film thickness distribution, and film
adhesion. The incorporation of impurities in the coatings must be minimized, meaning
minimizing the residual gases.
The very expensive sputtering targets require high target utilization and a minimized material
loss to elsewhere than the substrates. We are therefore looking for a turnkey deposition
system that can coat a relatively large number of detector substrate sheets in one run, but
at same time can be flexible enough to allow for future detector design modifications.
2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
2.1. Introduction
In addition to what is mentioned about the scope of the system, there are some features of
the system that we consider will be of importance for realizing high quality coatings for our
process now and in the near future process developments.
It is required that the substrate table is electrically isolated from the rest of the chamber,
and connected to an external power supply giving a negative substrate bias in the range
from ground to 150 V.
The option for Plasma booster etching is needed to allow for good film adhesion on various
substrate types.
Three-fold substrate rotation is needed to allow for uniform film thicknesses on 2-side coated
substrate sheets, typically of size 20 x 80 x 0.5 mm, even when the number of substrates
exceeds 500.
The large number of substrates to be coated requires a large vacuum volume and easy
access to the inner part of the system for quick substrate, target and shield change.
Handling must be possible by one (1) person only.
A base pressure of 0.01 mPa is needed. After 3 h of pumping and heating to 400 °C, the
pressure must be below 0.1 mPa even when the chamber is filled up with 500 substrate
sheets.
Uniform substrate heating up to 600 °C along the 500 mm height of the volume where the
substrates will be mounted is required.
The deposition system must feature computer controlled and remote controlled thin film
deposition. This gives a high degree of flexibility to custom tailor the coating properties, and
assures reproducibility. User-friendly software is needed to easily modify processes, follow
depositions in real time, and look for old log data.
An automatic check for malfunction of any possible part of the system is requested. A
component test before each run minimizes the number of failed runs and the risk of severely
breaking parts.
2.2. Specifications
The specification concerns a sputtering system including the following items:
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
1.
Turn key deposition system
Specifications are required
2.
The inner space of the deposition chamber shall be at least 600 mm
diameter and 700 mm height
Specifications are required
3.
8.
The chamber walls shall be water cooled for improved background
pressure during deposition
The chamber must be capable of handling substrates measuring at
least 500 mm height and 150 mm width
Easy access to inner space of deposition chamber through large doors
to allow quick change of targets, substrates, and shields
Specifications are required
The frame for the sputtering system must be of an open type, allowing
for easy access to all parts outside the chamber
Chamber walls must be covered with shields that easily can be
removed, sandblasted and remounted, for best possible background
pressure over time
Shield change must be possible to be done by one (1) person within 1 h
9.
Change of all targets by user must be possible within 20 min maximum
10.
Venting, sample change, and restart of pumps must be possible within
30 min maximum
The system must be equipped with at least four (4) 500 mm height
magnetron sources compatible with DC sputtering at pressures up to 3
Pa
Four DC magnetron power supplies capable of delivering at least 800 V
and 10 kW
The cooling of magnetrons must be monitored by water flow gauges
and be interlocked in case of malfunction
The power supplies shall be capable to run in constant current,
constant voltage and constant power modes. Automatic arc suppression
shall be included
 The target size and shape must be possible to modify and,
 The target utilization must be maximized
Specifications are required
Every magnetron shall have a computer controlled shutter
4.
5.
6.
7.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Plasma booster etching for enhanced film adhesion
Optional for future upgrades
No
18.
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20.
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23.
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39.
Three (3) fold azimuthal rotation of the substrate is required. It must
be possible to vary continuously in the range 0.5 – 3 rpm.
Specifications are required
It must be possible for one (1) person to change substrates
It must be possible to fit at least 500 substrate sheets (each 20 x 80
mm2) in one deposition run and have them uniformly coated (± 15% in
thickness along the target height an ± 2% orthogonal to that) on two
(2) sides simultaneously.
Specifications are required
Compatible with possibility for operation with spare substrate tables
It must be possible to apply a negative bias voltage of up to 150 V DC
during simultaneous heating and rotation of the substrate
Uniform substrate heating up to 600 °C along the 500 mm height is
required
Temperature uniformity up to 600 °C during a 20 h period
At least one (1) viewing window with shutter must be included, from
which it must be possible to see the target surface and substrates
during heating and deposition
The deposition chamber must be designed for an ultimate pressure of
0.01 mPa
A pressure of 5 mPa must be reached within 20 min from closing the
chamber
A pressure of < 0.1 mPa at 400 °C must be reached within 3 h when
chamber is filled with 500 substrate sheets
A venting valve for dry N, He, Ar gas or air must be implemented with
the system
A gas manifold for four (4) sputter gases must be included (Ar, N plus
two spares)
Mass flow controllers must be included for Ar, N and two spares
providing pressures of 1.3 Pa, 1.3 Pa, and 3 Pa, respectively, with the
proposed pumping system
Port for possibility of optional use of a Residual gas analyser and mass
spectrometer
The pumping system must be able to handle sputtering pressures
between 0 - 4 Pa
It must be possible to regulate the sputtering gas pressure with a
precision of 10 mPa
The deposition chamber must be equipped with necessary pressure
gauges for accurately measuring the pressure in the chamber at all
times, including during pump-down
The sputter gas pressure must be measured and controlled with a
capacitance gauge
To allow for quick cool down after deposition, it must be possible to let
in gases like He or N during cooling
Computer control of the pumping speed
Necessary valves between the deposition chamber and the pumping
system, to automatically prevent back streaming at power failure or
backing pump failure, shall be included
40.
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46.
All necessary electronics, cables, connectors, controllers to pumps and
magnetrons, instrumentation for pressure gauges must be supplied
integrated in the system
Computer control and computer remote control of the system must be
possible
Automatic check for malfunctions in all parts of the system (with
warning/process abort) before and during every process
A computer shall be able to interface with all major parts on the
deposition system (pressure gauges, valves, pumps, mass flow
controllers, water circuits, cooling system, power supplies, source
shutters, gas tank pressures, and substrate heater)
It must be possible to log data in a standard format, and in real time
monitor the following parameters: Magnetron powers, currents,
voltages, and arc counter, substrate bias voltage, substrate
temperature, substrate rotation, process/background pressure, gas
flow, and water flow
It must be possible to define and modify processes by the user in a
user-friendly software
It must be possible to follow on-going processes in real time
3. TECHNICAL ABILITY AND CAPACITY
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
No
A description of at least one (1) project, where a magnetron sputtering
system has been used for the deposition of B4C layers, executed during the
past three (3) years, is required.
Absence of references will exclude the addressee of this document from the
invitation to the public negotiated procurement procedure.
Specifications are required
4. DELIVERY & INSTALLATION
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
Delivery, installation and commissioning must be done in a maximum term of
eight (8) months. All delivered equipment must fit the Swedish electrical
system.
Specifications are required
No
5. DOCUMENTATION
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
No
Detailed documentation in English of all delivered equipment, dimensions,
drawings, components, its operation, maintenance and service must be
included and supplied on delivery.
Specifications are required
6. TRAINING
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
No
An on-site introduction to the system and subsequent appropriate training,
conducted at the installation site, must be included in the total price. The
training must cover all aspects, from general usage to detailed hardware
maintenance and troubleshooting as well as all software components.
Specifications are required
7. WARRANTY
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
No
The warranty time for the delivered system must be at least two (2) years
from final acceptance of the system and must be a full warranty against
defects in material and workmanship.
Specifications are required
8. SERVICE
Description
Fulfilled
Yes
Three



(3) year maintenance including:
Yearly check-up of the system
Exchange of sealings, oil, etc
Exchange of key components (cathodes, heaters, booster, parts
of
the table) by refurbished parts with one year warranty on
exchanged components
 Qualified service engineers must be available for on-site visits within a
period of 24 hours from report
 24/7 telephone support service is also required
Specifications are required
No
9. SUPPORT
Description
Fulfilled
Yes

Support for the design of the factory and work flow planning is
required
 Support for the design of substrate sheets holders is required
 Start-up production assistance is required
Specifications are required
No