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Optical Processing Furnace

Schematic illustration showing sample moving into an orange-glowing opening; on top of this enclosure are eight rows of tube-like heating lamps.

Optical processing furnace, capable of passivation, recrystallization, and surface preparation of samples.

This page provides details on the optical processing furnace in the Stand-Alone Measurements and Characterization bays of the Process Development and Integration Laboratory. This capability—also called the Optical Thermal Annealing Station—should be operational within 2009.

The optical processing furnace is available for any application requiring annealing, and it can be used with a wide range of samples, including amorphous and crystalline silicon and cadmium telluride.

Applications:

  • Doing hydrogen passivation
  • Recrystallizing thin-film silicon
  • Preparing a wafer surface by oxidation

Special features:

  • Manufactured by Applied Optical Sciences
  • Access to four process gases: Ar, N2, O2, and forming gas (N2+H2)
  • Atmospheric pressure
  • Can exhaust effluents
  • Substrate temperature up to 900°C with uniformity ±5°C, monitored with a thermocouple

Contact Bhushan Sopori for more details.