Sigma SQC-122c manual Chapter Operation Introduction, Definitions, Defining a Film

Chapter 2 Operation

2.0Introduction

This chapter describes common tasks associated with operating the SQC-122c. It assumes that you understand basic operation of the menus and parameter setup as described in Chapter 1. Detailed definitions of unfamiliar setup parameters can be found under the appropriate menu description in Chapter 3.

2.1Definitions

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-122c, 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 film can be used in several different processes. The SQC-122c 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 that it be deposited in a process.

Process: A deposition process is a sequence of layers (i.e. films, materials) to be deposited. The SQC-122c can store up to 25 processes, consisting of a total of 250 layers.

2.2Defining a Film

A film is a material to be deposited, plus all of its associated setup parameters. Keep in mind that a film can be used in multiple processes. Editing a film’s parameters will cause changes to every process where the film is used.

To define a film, select Film Menu on the main screen. A list of 25 films (or <Empty>) will be displayed. To define a new film, scroll to <Empty> and press Create. A new Film# is added to the list of existing films (you can use the SQC-122c setup software later to assign descriptive film names). Press Edit to display the parameters for this film.

2-1