GENCOA products cover 3 sputtering related areas Magnetron Sputter Cathodes planar & rotatable Reactive gas controller & endpoint detector Linear ion sources Other activities include on-site process implementation, training and tuning
GENCOA Key Company Facts GENCOA is a private limited company (Ltd) Founded 1995 by Dr Dermot Monaghan Located in Liverpool, UK Employs 34 people 6 design (Pro E 3D CAD) 4 process development & simulation 14 assembly & test 4 sales & tech support (2 Asia based) 3 administration & accounts 3 hardware & software (Speedflo) > 3000 magnetrons in the field > 500 speedflo systems in the field 95% market share
GENCOA worldwide company presence Sales agents / distributors located around the world and 95% of output is exported from the UK Main markets are USA, EU, Japan, Taiwan, Korea & China Local Gencoa based staff for technical support in USA, EU & Asia
Reactive gas process controllers
Reactive gas process controllers Speedflo used in glass, solar, display & OLED sectors & makes today s & tomorrow s products possible
Coating ra te ( nm. m /m in) 120 90 60 30 0 Si and SiOx rates at 23 kw (dual rotatable) 0 20 40 60 80 100 Setpoint (O2 emission 777nm) Cost of ownership of reactive feedback elements Line speed increase x 3-5 Return on Speedflo (reactive controller) investment < 30 days
Reactive Sputtering Monitoring Exhaust Part. Press. Voltage, Freq. Plasma emmission Target Substrate Reactive gas input Transp.,σ,n Control
Process Inputs / Outputs Inputs PEM - Plasma emission monitor Metal line / multiple lines Gas line Argon line Plasma spectrum Target voltage Outputs (Actuator) Reactive Gas Flow Target Voltage Target Power Output Gas partial pressure (Ar / throttle valve) lambda sensor gas partial pressure
Pro / Cons of Inputs Inputs PEM - Plasma emission monitor Metal line / multiple lines Gas line Argon line Plasma spectrum Target voltage lambda sensor gas partial pressure PEM high speed, most universal / powerful & can be multi-zone but requires fibreoptics Target voltage is high speed and low cost but single zone and in the past for certain material / gas combinations Gas partial pressure - multigas expensive, but single gas lower cost, requires sensor in chamber
The ideal controller handles all Inputs PEM Metal line / multiple lines Gas line Argon line Plasma spectrum Target voltage Gas partial pressure Outputs (Actuator) Reactive Gas Flow Target Voltage Target Power Output Gas partial pressure (Ar / throttle valve) Why is Mulit-function important? Some processes are hard to control and drifts / fluctuations occur
Speedflo multi-channel controller
Reactive deposition A ready made solution Large area reactive sputtering 30 years old Mature processing products available Reactive sputtering in the high rate metal mode is highly unstable process so appropriate process control the critical factor Gencoa have implemented reactive process control over many different production plants with > 3m glass sizes More than 500 Speedflo systems controlling reactive production plants around the world Gencoa can set-up the process control on-site or connect remotely to the Speedflo box
The data processing in the Speedflo box (not PC) for high speed robust operation Digital software drive process controller Typical closed loop feedback times of 5-20 msec from signal receipt to gas delivery in the target area.
Multiple sensors control and trim gas over large areas ±1.5% uniformity already commonplace on 1-3m glass Lambda Sensors Choice of sensor types available
P.E.M requires the light signal from the plasma to be transmitted Gencoa have a range of optical components
Standard range of internal optical components and an external KF25 based sensor
Penning Gauge based P.E.M. sensor used for batch processes with plasma fluctuations Measures excess gas in the process
P.E.M, gas pipes and bars provide ~ 10msec process feedback response Gas bar design delivers gas quickly and uniformly Lambda sensors shown
Gas bar options and magnetically guided anodes are available to further enhance the performance of your process
Speedflo spectrometer based sensor displays the full plasma spectrum information Upto 4 different wavelengths can be combined
Gencoa Lambda sensors measure the O2 concentration in the vacuum chamber Additional sensor control box included
Different sensor control modes possible for reactive AZO via feedback controller O 2 gas Penning-PEM Lambda Target V Process- PEM
Speedflo different sensor responses to a gas ramp - hysteresis
The gas flow valves need to have a fast enough response to match the process needs The MKS 1179A is a suitable valve 5 4 Sensor 1 (PENNING) Actuator 1 (METER) Setpoint 1 Sensor 2 (LAMBDA) Actuator 2 (MFC) Setpoint 2 3 2 1 0 4950 5050 5150 5250 5350 5450 5550 5650 5750 5850 5950 msec
Gencoa will advise on with PEM sensor locations and gas delivery method & the sizes of the MFC s required for the process
All components need to be integrated correctly to ensure optimum operation
Reactive AZO Sputtering Hysteresis but can be controlled with feedback ZnAl dual rotatable + O 2 - TRIPLE RAMP CONDITIONING Signals, % 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 Time, s SetPoint (%) Sensor (%) Actuator (%)
Process control window for Speedflo related to response for SiOx in typical AR layer stack for flat screen television
Example of controlled reactive dual rotatable ITO deposition runs InSn + O 2 Speedflo control during production tests 7 6 5 Signals 4 3 85% Transmission 13Ω Sheet resistance 2 1 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 time, s Sensor (V) Actuator (V) SetPoint (V)
Reactive dual rotatable AZO deposition process window Process control using plasma monitoring ZnAl + O 2 reactive control dual rotatable 100 100 90 MFC feedback, sccm 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 Gas Feedback (SCCM) O2 PEM value % O2 PEM setpoint % 80 60 40 20 O2 PEM and target V Sensors (%) 10 Target V % 0 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 Time, s
TCO film property tuning using Speedflo reactive sputtering controller with a dual rotatable magnetron InSn+O 2 using Speedflo control for reactive production of ITO 160 90 Sheet resistance (ohms) 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 Optimised Development Sheet resistance Transmission 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Transmission (%) 0 0 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 O 2 Set-point (%)
The controller requires tuning to provide optimum control reactive AZO sputtering controller with a dual rotatable magnetron ZnAl + O2 reactive control dual rot rotatable MFC feedback, sccm 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Changed Ks to regain control 0 1000 2000 3000 Time, s Gas Feedback (SCCM) O2 PEM value % O2 PEM setpoint % 100 80 60 40 20 0 O2 PEM and target V Sensors %
P.E.M based reactive sputtering controllers already work in large scale Low-E glass P.E.M control response to load-lock activity SiOx AC dual 3 Master (A, B & C) and 1 slave (1G) control 80 60 Sensor B setpoint = 50% 50 45 Sensor B(%) Sensor target V(%) Actuator 2B(%) 40 40 Actuator 1G(%) Sensor sig nals 20 0-20 -40 target voltage variation 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Slave O 2 flow 1G=2 x (2B) 35 30 25 20 15 Actuator sig nal % -60 10-80 Master O 2 flow (2B) 5-100 0 Time, s
Rate enhancement for reactive sputtering controllers Si and SiOx rates at 23 kw (dual rotatable) P.E.M set-point verses dynamic deposition rate 120 Coating ra te ( n m. m /m in ) 90 60 30 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Setpoint (O2 emission 777nm)
Rate enhancement for reactive sputtering controllers P.E.M set-point verses dynamic deposition rate AlO x depasition rate. Dual rotatable magnetron. 100 80 60 40 Target voltage setpoint, % 20 0 110 90 70 50 30 10 Deposition rate (A.U.)
Rate or layer properties determine the controller set-point NbOx-SiOx layer gain in thickness after climate tests 120 100 + 0.8 nm after climate test Layer thickness, nm 80 60 40 20 + 1.4 nm after climate test NbOx (SiOx at 45%) NbOx (SiOx at 60%) SiOx at 45%PEM SiOx at 60%PEM 0 KT1_1 KT1_2 KT1_3 KT1_4 KT1_5 KT1_6 KT1_7 Sample reference
On-site process training and support by Gencoa personnel From UK office or local GENCOA employees
Gencoa provide process controllers, remote access or on-site process tuning Typical AR production line Speedflo installation
Rotatable & planar sputtering modules with speedflo control available
Complete process control modules including electronics Rear cabinet will house all the control and components
PEM sensors have argon bleed lines (not shown) to prevent coating of the optics All parts have been positioned for optimum process operation
Gencoa can provide a range of process control solutions based upon the Speedflo system for high rate oxide & nitride layers. As an example with the DLIM magnets, Speedflo controller and Gencoa gas bars a rate of between 40nm.m/min and 60nm.m/min will be achieved for SiO2 from 1 dual magnetron pair running at around 15kW AC per m length of target. The actual rate will be 40-55nm.m/min and will depend upon the coating properties required from the film. Gencoa can offer on-site process implementation and optimization based upon many years of experience on a wide range of processes and machine platforms. Conclusions