Research: Deposition System Main (Home Dep Main Loadlock & Wafer Handler Clean Station Sputter Station )

I am currently a member of the Cryogenic Electronics Group at San Francisco State University. We are investigating the design and fabrication of superconducting tunnel junctions to create novel ultralow noise cryogenic amplifiers and ultralow noise SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices) capable of amplifying Gigahertz signals.

I am participating in the design and construction of a sputter deposition system to make pinhole free and stress free silicon dioxide thin films. The system consists of a main vacuum chamber with two wafer stations (one for cleaning and the other for deposition) and a wafer handler and loadlock combination.

Many of the major components for this project have been obtained from systems donated to our Thin Film Lab by such organizations as Hewlett-Packard, Lucas Labs, Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and the Las Positas College Vacuum Technology Program.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to Mike Ackeret of Transfer Engineering in Fremont for his help in designing the chamber and many of its components. I am also indebted to Terry Watkinson of Austin Scientific for his assistance with the cryopump and compressor, and Herb Kott and Todd Johnson of US Inc. for donating a MAK sputter gun.

Updated 5/15/2002