Users must add a comment to their booking informing what temperature sensor they need. Recipes from room temperature up to 500°C must use thermocouple. Recipes above 700°C must use pyrometer. For temperatures in between, either can be used but which one is fixed for each recipe, i.e. free permutation is not possible.

Thermocouple installation

ATTENTION

Gloves must be clean for installation. Any contamination on the thermocouple may compromise annealed samples. Change gloves if you have been doing working on other tasks in the clean room.

  1. Log in to the tool on LMACS. It is necessary to test the system to make sure the thermocouple was properly connected.
  2. Turn the system on
    1. Lamp switch in the on position
  3. Carefully open the oven door. Open it enough to allow for loading a 4" wafer; this will give enough room to safely install the thermocouple
  4. Remove the thermocouple from the bag and check for any contaminants, especially on the quartz support
    1. Remove any contamination by either blowing with N2 or wiping with IPA and then drying with N2.
  5. Carefully insert the quartz support in between the two posts on the quartz tray.
    1. Note that there is a slot on each post. The thermocouple support must slide into both slots.
    2. Note also that there is proper up and down side for the quartz support. The thermocouple ends should come from the bottom. This will allow for the tip to point up more easily.
  6. Take the holding pin from the other bag and insert it on the aperture behind the thermocouple support.
    1. The pin doesn't go all the way down. Don't push it too hard, otherwise the quartz tray may break
    2. The thermocouple support should touch the wider part of the pin.
  7. Using a magnet, test both leads of the thermocouple
    1. One of them is more strongly attracted by the magnet. Connect this lead to the wider pin on the RTA door using a small screw driver
  8. Connect the remaining lead to the other pin on te RTA door
  9. Adjust the fused end of the thermocouple such that it points up, making it higher than the support pins on the tray. But make surer that the door can be safely closed without a wafer, without clamping the thermocouple
  10. Put a wafer on the tray and make sure that the thermocouple is touching the bottom surface
    1. Adjust the thermocouple as necessary to guarantee that only the very tip touches the wafer
  11. Open the N2 valve
  12. Load the wafer into the RTA and open the "Diagnostics" window on the control software
    1. It is necessary to log in to the software with the nF-Service user. Credentials are in Secret Server.
    2. Alternatively, it is possible to run any recipe that uses the thermocouple and log in using the nF-User credentials (password: user), found in the SOP.
  13. Purge the chamber with N2  for 30 s by changing the set point to 10 SLPM and clicking on the valve symbol
  14. Reduce the N2 flow by changing the set point to 5 SLPM
  15. Click the "Temperature Display Thermocouple"
  16. Click the lamp symbol to power the lamps
  17. Type 10 in the "Intensity" field
    1. The lamps will turn on at 10% intensity

  18. Pay attention to the temperature shown on the display.

    WARNING!

    Don't let the temperature exceed 700°C, otherwise the thermocouple may fuse to the wafer.

    1. If it increases, the thermocouple is properly installed and working
    2. If it decreases, the leads were inverted on the door pins. Stop the process, reverse the pins and test again
    3. If it doesn't change, or shows very small values, there is a problem with the thermocouple. Check for bad connection at the door pins or a broken thermocouple lead.
  19. Press "Zero intensity" and the lamp symbol to turn the lamps off.
  20. Turn the N2 flow off by clicking on the valve symbol
  21. Wait for the wafer to cool down to manageable temperatures and unload it.
  22. Close the door, turn N2 valve off and flip the lamp switch to the off position.
  23. Log out from the tool on LMACS.

Removing thermocouple

  1. There is no need to log in on LMACS nor to test the system
  2. Open the door enough to remove the thermocouple
  3. With a screwdriver release the leads from the pins at the door
  4. Carefully remove the quartz pin from the tray and store it in its bag
  5. Carefully remove the thermocouple from the tray and store it in is bag
  6. Close the RTA door
  7. Store the thermocouple and pin in the box under the table.