INFICON SQC-310 Thin Film Deposition Controller - Manual (Page 20)

Chapter 2 Operation
2-1
Chapter 2 - Operation
2.0 Introduction
This chapter describes common tasks associated with operating the SQC-300. It
assumes that you understand basic operation of the menus and parameter setup as
described in Chapter 1. Detailed definitions of each parameter can be found under the
appropriate menu description in Chapter 3.
2.1 Definitions
Several terms will be used repeatedly throughout this manual. It is important that you
understand each of these terms.
Material: A physical material to be deposited. A database of approximately 100
materials is stored in the SQC-300, and additional materials may be added using the
setup software. Three parameters completely define a material: Name, Density, and Z-
Factor. A table of common materials, their density, and Z-Factor is listed in Appendix A.
Film: A film describes in detail how a material will be deposited. It includes the material
definition and all of the preconditioning, deposition, and post conditioning variables
necessary to accurately deposit the material. Because the film definition does not
include rate and thickness information, a single film can be used in several different
layers and processes. The SQC-300 stores up to 25 films.
Layer: Layers are the basic building blocks of processes. A layer consists of a film and
the thickness and rate setpoints for that stage of the process. Layers also define which
outputs and sensors will be used at that point in the process. Co-deposition of multiple
films occurs when more than one output is active during a layer.
Process: A process is a sequence of layers to be deposited. The SQC-300 can store
up to 25 processes, consisting of a total of 1000 layers.
Phase: A step in the deposition cycle. Preconditioning phases include Ramp 1, Soak 1,
Ramp 2, Soak 2. Deposit phases include indexer rotate, shutter delay, deposition, and
deposition rate ramps. Post conditioning phases include Feed Ramp, Feed, and Idle
Power.