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Electrical & Computer Engineering
Integrated Microfabrication Lab
Machine Scheduler

PE2 Plasma Etcher

Planar Etch II (PE2) Machine

Contact Information

Maintenance RequestFaculty Contact: Aaron Hawkins
Staff Contact: Jim Fraser
Student Contact: none
General Information
Equipment Specifications
Operating Procedure

The Planar Etch II (PE2) machine is a parallel-plate plasma etcher. It uses O2 to ash organic contaminants. Note that the substrate heater is disconnected, so the heater dial in the upper-left corner does not work. The oxygen flow rate of PE2 is: 150 sccm when the tube is 15 and 100 sccm when it is 10.

When running an oxygen plasma, the plasma should be a very light blue, almost white.

Etch Rates

For AZ 3330:

  • 200 W, 10 O2 flow : 270 nm/min
  • 150 W, 10 O2 flow : 230 nm/min
  • 100 W, 10 O2 flow : 150 nm/min

For SU-8 5:

  • 200 W, 10 O2 flow : 300 nm/min

Turning on the necessary equipment

  1. The process gas is oxygen (O2). The oxygen tank is located in the back pump room. Turn it on with the valve on the top of the cylinder.
  2. The vacuum pump for the PE2 can be switched on and off with the switch box mounted on the wall to the right of the PE2.

Loading the chamber

  1. Turn on the "MAIN POWER" switch in the lower-right corner.
  2. Switch on the nitrogen to vent the chamber with the "VENT" switch.
  3. Load your wafers onto the plate.
  4. Be sure to not cover up the vacuum hole in the center with a wafer - it could destroy your wafer!
  5. Close the lid and open the vacuum valve very slowly. If you open the valve too quickly, your wafer will slide around on the plate.
  6. Turn on the "POWER" switch next to the pressure display.
  7. After the pressure display starts reading, open the vacuum valve 2 to 3 more turns.

Manual Run

  1. Note - In manual mode, the timer is disabled!
    1. Make sure the "AUTO" switch is in the "MAN" (down) position.
    2. Turn on the switch for the O2 and set the flow rate by looking at the silver ball.
    3. Turn the "POWER ADJUST" knob to set the power.
    4. WARNING!!! DO NOT SET THE POWER ABOVE 250 WATTS!
    5. Turn on the "GENERATOR POWER" switch to strike a plasma.
    6. When finished, turn off the switches for "GENERATOR POWER" and the O2.

Venting the Chamber

  1. After finishing a process, wait for the vacuum to pump down to under 60 mTorr.
  2. Close the vacuum valve.
  3. Turn on the "VENT" switch.
  4. Turn off the "VENT" switch when the chamber is at atmospheric pressure and remove your wafers.

Shutting down the PE2

  1. Open the vacuum valve and pump the chamber down.
  2. Close the vacuum valve. Turn off the "MAIN POWER" switch.
  3. Turn off the vacuum pump with the switch on the wall.
  4. If you are the last one to leave the cleanroom at night, shut off the oxygen at the tank in the back.

Auto Run - Frequently does not work - fails to turn on the RF

  1. With an auto run, the machine turns off the power and the gases when the timer runs out.
    1. With the "AUTO" switch in the "MAN" (down) position, turn on the switch for the O2 and set the flow rate by looking at the silver ball.
    2. Switch the "AUTO" switch to the off (mid) position.
    3. Turn the "POWER ADJUST" knob to set the power.
    4. WARNING!!! DO NOT SET THE POWER ABOVE 250 WATTS!
    5. Set the timer.
    6. Turn on the "GENERATOR POWER" switch.
    7. Switch the "AUTO" switch up to the "AUTO" position to start the process.
    8. First the gas will turn on, and then about 15 seconds later, the power will switch on. (If the power fails to turn on, run in manual mode).
    9. After the timer has run out, switch the "AUTO" switch back to off (mid) position and turn off the switches for the gas and the generator power.