Profilometer Model: Alpha-step 200 Manufacturer: Tencor Instruments Contact Information:   Faculty Contact:   Aaron Hawkins   Staff Contact:   Don Dawson   Student Contact:   Matt Holmes

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1. General Description
   1. The profilometer measures the vertical depth of a material across a specified horizontal length. The profile is displayed on a printable graphical interface. Uses for this equipment include measuring etch depth, deposited film thickness, and surface roughness.
2. Equipment Specifications
   1. Vertical ranges of: 1000Å, 2500Å, 5000Å, 10kÅ, 25kÅ, 50kÅ, 100kÅ, 250k, 500kÅ and 1000kÅ
   2. Leveling (Auto, Manual)
   3. Scan Length: 3mm (Manual mode), 2.5mm (Automatic)
   4. Resolution: 50 Å
3. Operating Instructions
   1. CAUTIONARY NOTES: ALWAYS LOWER THE STAGE BEFORE LOADING AND UNLOADING SAMPLES.
      DO NOT MOVE THE STAGE WHEN THE STYLUS IS IN
   2. Start-up Procedures
      1. Turn the power on (if the equipment is cold, it may need to warm up for a few minutes)
      2. To load the sample, lower the stage and move it out from under the stylus. Do this by pressing the “TABLE” down arrow and then turning stage knob.
      3. Place the sample on the stage.
      4. Move the loaded stage under the stylus.
      5. To view the sample through the graphical interface, press the “TABLE” up arrow. Continue raising the stage until the sample is in focus.
      6. Orient the stage using the stage knobs until the target feature is under the stylus. (The stylus can be seen as a black pointed object on the top of the screen.)
      7. Press the “TABLE” up arrow button until the stylus makes contact with the sample and then backs off.
      8. Press the “START/STOP” button.
   3. Changinng the Horizontal Scan Range
      1. Press “ENT”.
      2. Select from the range choices displayed on the screen by pressing the “RANGE” up and down arrows.
      3. Press “ENT” again to exit.
   4. Changing the Displayed Vertical Depth
      1. 1. Press the “RANGE” up and down arrows and select from the choices of displayed depths.
      2. 2. Press “PLOT” to make the changes.
   5. Zooming
      
      1. To zoom into a specific section of the plotted profile, move the left and right cursors around the desired section. Do this by pressing the “CURSOR” left and right arrows.
      2. Press “PLOT”.
      3. To zoom back out, press the “PLOT” button again.
   6. Manually Level the Profile
      1. Press “LEVEL”.
      2. Move the left and right cursors around a portion of the slanted line you know to be level. Do this by pressing the “CURSOR” left and right arrows.
      3. Press “PLOT”
   7. Printing the Profile
      1. When the profilometer is first turned on you must press "ENT" to establish a link. If you did not, then turn it off and back on to do it. It will normally say "HOST LINK NOT ACTIVE" after doing this.
      2. When scanning do not stop the scan early or the computer can not correctly display the profile.
      3. On the computer to the right of the profilometer open the "profilometer-HyperTerminal" program. In the start menu it can be found in : All Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> HyperTerminal -> profilometer
      4. After you have done the scan on the profilometer, in HyperTerminal click: Transfer -> Capture Text
      5. A window will open allowing you to name the .TXT file, and by default it will be saved to the desktop.
      6. Press the “PRINT” button on the Profilometer.
      7. After the computer has gotten all the data points click: Transfer -> Capture Text -> Stop
      8. Open MATLAB
      9. Make sure the correct directory path is selected in the dropdown menu at the top of MATLAB. It should be "C:\Documents and Settings\cleanroom\Desktop" if you saved the file to the default location.
      10. In the Command Window of MATLAB type "alphastep200 FILENAME" where FILENAME is the name of your file from the HyperTerminal program. You do not have to put a .TXT extension on your FILENAME.
      11. If all has gone correctly MATLAB should now generate a figure that you can print and/or save. Please see the student contact if you have any problems or questions.
      12. Remember to move the .TXT file off of the desktop when finished or it may be deleted.
   8. Shut-down Procedures
      1. Lower the stage and move it out from under the stylus by pressing the “TABLE” down arrow and then turning the stage knobs.
         
      2. Remove the sample.
      3. Turn the power off.
      4. Log out.

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