66 -- Thin Film Deposition Chamber

The Electromagnetic Technology Division of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops optical photon detectors which require the deposition deposit superconducting metal films. This solicitation is for a thin film deposition chamber, initially configured for sputtering, with the option of later adding a single e-beam source, sample load lock, and an ion source. The target materials for the systems will consist of, but not be limited to W, Hf, Ti, Si, Nb, Au, Al, PdAu, Cu, SiO2 and Mo.***Summary Technical requirements: The chamber shall have or be: 1) At least 50.8 cm (20 inch) diameter;.2) Height as dictated by the deposition uniformity requirements (see below) but in no case shall it be less than 38 cm (~15 inch); 3) O-ring sealed top plate, removable for servicing the interior of the chamber; 4) Welded, electropolished stainless steel chamber for high vacuum operation; 5) Conflat (CF) pumping, gauging and instrumentation ports for all chamber accessories; 6) Mechanical assist for raising the top plate; 7) Able to withstand baking at 100'C without degradation ***Chamber top: The chamber top shall incorporate at least the following: 1) A port (minimum size 4.5" CF) to accommodate the sample holder as described below. 2) At least three unused ports (2.75: CF or larger) ***Chamber Body: The cylindrical chamber body shall have or incorporate: 1) A minimum 8" CF port for sample loading located at a height consistent with the future incorporation of a load-lock sample loading system; 2) A second 8" CF port located at the same height and radially opposite (180 degrees from) the first; 3) A 8" CF port located at the rear of the chamber for mounting of a turbo pump; 4) A minimum 6" CF port located near the front of the chamber configured as a shuttered viewport; 5) Minimum of 2 4.5" CF spare ports at least one of which can be configured as a second viewing or an illumination port; 6) Minimum of 8 2.75" CF ports to accommodate ion gauge tube, gas inlet, vent valve, convection gauge tube, and spares; 7) Minimum of 3 1.33" mini CF ports to accommodate a valved capacitance manometer, viewport shutter and spare(s). ***Chamber baseplate (Bottom Flange). The baseplate, which may be flat or dished, shall have or incorporate: 1) A minimum 6" CF port located directly under the sample holder reserved for future installation of an e-beam source. The system shall be designed with appropriate access such that the e-beam source can be mounted below the baseplate level and/or the sample holder raised to provide the proper source-sample separation; 2) A minimum of 3 6.75" CF ports located equidistant from the sample holder centerline for the installation of sputter sources; 3) An 8" CF mounted such the centerline of the port intersects the sample in the midpoint of its height adjustment. This port should be suitable for future installation of an ion source. ***Pumping System and Vacuum Specifications. The system shall be designed and manufactured in a manner consistent with operation at a base pressure under 5x10-8 Torr. The system shall be helium leak checked prior to shipment. NIST shall supply a gate and throttling valve assembly, a turbo pump and a roughing pump which, at the vendor's option, can be mounted on the system at the vendor's factory or at NIST subsequent to system delivery. Vendor shall supply a manual vent valve. ***Vacuum Gauges and Pressure Control. The system shall have the following vacuum gauging: 1) One nude ion gauge head with cable; 2) One Pirani type vacuum gauge tube with cable; 3) One capacitance manometer capable of reading up to 1 Torr; 4) Controllers and displays with the capability to simultaneously display readout from all gauges. The system shall have the following chamber pressure control features: 1) Two channels of mass flow controlled process gas each with a manual isolation valve and filter. Each controller shall have a control range from 2% to 100% of full scale (F.S.) and an accuracy of +/- 1% of F.S. Full scale range shall be specified by NIST prior to system delivery. 2) Interconnections of the gas handling lines should be either VCR fittings or welded stainless steel. ***Sputter Sources and Power Distribution. The system shall include a minimum of 3 magnetron sputter sources meeting the following requirements and configured so that all may point at the substrate simultaneously. 1) Each sputter source shall be able to contain a single 7.5 cm (3 inch) target. 2) Each source shall be water cooled with the magnets isolated from the water. 3) Each source shall have an electrically or pneumatically operated shutter which is controlled from the system control panel. 4) Each source shall have a shroud or chimney and a gas ring. 5) The orientation of each source shall be adjustable in-situ without breaking vacuum to keep the source pointed at the substrate as the substrate height in the chamber is changed. 6) The system shall be capable of producing films with a better than 3% uniformity of thickness across a 4 inch wafer for SiO2 or TiN material. 8) The sources shall have the ability to operate at pressures down to 10-4 Torr. 9) Maximum power shall be at least 1 kW per source. 10) The design of the system shall not preclude simultaneous operation of multiple sources thus providing the ability to co-sputter materials. 11) One switch box will be provided to allow powering of any of the provided sources from a NIST-supplied DC power supply. 12) Each source shall be capable of sputtering tungsten at the substrate at a rate of at least 100nm/min. ***Substrate Holder: The system shall include a substrate holder which shall have or incorporate the following features: 1) The substrate holder shall hold substrates in a horizontal orientation (sputter-up mode). 2) It shall be confocally located above the sputtering sources and e-beam evaporator port. 3) It shall be compatible with 3" (76mm) and 4" (102mm) diameter wafers. 4) It shall be possible to bias the substrate with RF or DC bias at working voltages up to 1000V. 5) The holder shall provide for motorized rotation of the substrate at speeds continuously variable from 0 to at least 15 rpm. Any controller necessary for this functionality shall be provided. 6) A system for heating the substrate up to at least 725C in an oxygen atmosphere shall be provided. Provision for mounting a thermocouple or other form of temperature readout shall be provided. 7) The distance between the substrate and sputter source must be adjustable from 4" (10 cm) to 7" (18 cm). As noted above, the orientation of the sputter sources shall also be adjustable such that they are always directed at the center of the sample holder. It shall be possible to perform these adjustments to both the substrate holder and the sources in-situ without breaking vacuum. 8) The substrate holder must limit substrate temperature to a maximum of 80 C when sputtering tungsten at 100 nm/min for 1 minute. ***Mechanical, Electrical, and Pneumatic: 1) Facility power in the anticipated installation location consists of a dedicated 100A 208V 3 phase circuit. A single connection point to the deposition system is preferred. 2) Manifolds with single point service connections shall be provided for cooling water, nitrogen gas, and compressed air. 3) Appropriate water and vacuum interlocks shall be provided on electrical distribution outlets. 4) Chamber shall be mounted on a suitable frame with integrated table top, casters, leveling feet and safety panels. 5) All controls shall be logically grouped on an instrument panel integrated with the chamber frame or on a stand-alone instrument rack. ***Documentation, Installation and Training: 1) A complete set of drawings and manuals shall be provided with the system. 2) Warranty shall be at least 1 year for parts and labor. 3) Delivery shall be made within 180 days from the contracting date. 4) The system shall be installed at NIST, Boulder labs, and training shall be provided for at least one day on the system. 5) References shall be provided for at least 3 similar systems already in the field. *** Award will be based upon price and technical merit in conformance with the evaluation standards of FAR Part 13.106. *** Technical merit will be judged according to the following criteria: 1) The ability of the vacuum components (chamber, gauges, etc) to meet or exceed specifications: (20 %) 2) The ability of the deposition components (sputter sources, gas handling, sample holder) to meet or exceed specifications: (30 %) 3) The ability to upgrade the sputtering system with load lock, e-beam evaporator, ion source, automated process gas controls, and interlocks. (20%) 4) The ability of the installation, documentation and warranty to meet or exceed specifications: (10 %) 5) The demonstration of past performance of the vendor as observed in references (to be provided): (20 %) *** This small purchase (NTE $100K) is being conducted under the authority of FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items. NAICS CODE: 333295 Business size: 500 employees. FAR provisions in full text are available online at http://www.arnet.gov/far/. Agency protest procedures are available online at http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/conops/reflib/alp1296. *** Responses may be addressed to the attention of Kelly Rima, Purchasing Agent, via fax (+1 (555) 000-0000) or email (contact@example.gov). Responses must specifically address the requirements herein. Responses must be received no later than COB August 28, 2003. The anticipated award date is September 12, 2003. Any questions must be submitted in writing to the attention of Ms. Rima (email preferred).