Specific Process Knowledge/Thermal Process/RTP Jipelec 2

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RTP2 Jipelec - Rapid Thermal Processor

The RTP2 Jipelec and work station are located in the DTU Nanolab cleanroom A-5. Photo: Inês Diogo@DTU Nanolab, July 2023

The main purpose of the RTP2 Jipelec (Jipelec JetFirst 200 RTP) is to perform thermal processes, using faster heating rates and shorter process durations when compared to conventional methods. This is called rapid thermal processing (RTP) and can be used to treat different types of samples.

Rapid thermal processing typically includes RTA, i.e. Rapid Thermal Annealing, where samples are heated up very rapidly in a nitrogen or argon atmosphere. Contact alloying and RTN, i.e. Rapid Thermal Nitridation, might also be possible for some samples.

The Set-Up

The machine consists of a reactor chamber, in which different samples can be processed/annealed at temperatures up to 1200 °C.

The chamber can be heated up very rapidly by the use of 18 infrared halogen lamps that are situated in the chamber lid. A quartz plate is placed below the lamps, i.e. between the lamps and the sample(s). Below the platen, there is an optical pyrometer aligned with the center of the substrate, that is placed on the bottom part of the chamber. The platen presents additional inlets where multiple thermocouples can be mounted. These details are exemplified in the images below.

Schematic representation of the RTP2 Jipelec reactor. Image: DTU Nanolab

RTP2 Jipelec chamber platen. Image: Inês Diogo@DTU Nanolab, July 2023

The lamps are divided in three zones so that a uniform temperature can be obtained over the substrate. During the heating, the quartz window below the lamps will get warm. However, the chamber walls are cooled by a cooling water flow and thus remain cold to prevent sample contamination. As already mentioned, the cooling unit is located under the machine. The lamps are cooled by cooling fans (no noisy compressed air cooling like in the old Jipelec RTP). The halogen lamps and the quartz plate are visible in the image below.

The samples are placed above the round metal plate in the bottom of the chamber, i.e. below the halogen lamps. The substrates are meant to be placed on top of three quartz pins. Depending on the type and size of the substrate, there are 3 types of quartz pins available (for the susceptor, a 100 mm wafer and for a 150 mm wafer). Nonetheless, the susceptor should always be used, when possible (except for 8 wafers). Read more about this in section 7.1.

In the image below, it is shown the SiC-coated graphite susceptor placed on top of the dedicated quartz pins inside the chamber.

The user manual, user APV, technical information and contact information can be found in LabManager:

RTP2 Jipelec

Overview of the performance of the Jipelec RTP and some process related parameters

Purpose		Rapid thermal processor/annealer
Process parameter range	Process temperature	Annealing temperature: Up to 1200 oC, but maximum 450 oC for III-V materials Time limits at temperatures above 700 oC: 700 °C: 60 min. 800 °C: 30 min. 900 °C: 20 min. 1000 °C: 10 min. 1100 °C: 5 min. 1200 °C: 1 min. Temperature ramp: Up to 50 oC/min with susceptor Up to 100 oC/min without susceptor
	Process pressure	1 atm (atmospheric pressure) ~ 0 mbar (vacuum) without any gas flow
	Gases on the system	Process gases: Nitrogen (N2) Argon (Ar) Forming gas (4 % H2/96 % N2) - Not connected yet Purge gas: Nitrogen (N2)
Substrates	Batch size	One 200 mm wafer (less good temperature uniformity than smaller wafers/samples) One 150 mm wafer One 100 mm wafer One or more 50 mm wafers (always placed on a susceptor or carrier wafer) One or more small samples (always placed on a susceptor or carrier wafer)
	Substrate materials allowed	Silicon Silicon oxide and silicon nitride Fused silica/quartz III-V materials - Use a dedicated carrier wafer Metals - Use a dedicated carrier wafer and ask for permission