Ion Beam Assisted E-Beam Deposition System

Our in house Ion Beam Assisted e-beam Deposition system (IBAD e-beam) system allows for the study and fabrication of bi-axially textured films. The IBAD system is equipped with two electron beam evaporators. One is a 4 pocket e-beam evaporator which can deliver currents of up to 600 mA at a voltage of about 10KV. The multi-pocket configuration allows for different materials to be evaporated in sequence without breaking the vacuum during deposition of multi-layered structures. Another e-beam evaporator can be used for co-evaporation of two different materials. The atomic deposition rate can be monitored in situ by a quartz crystal thickness monitor, which is located near the substrate holder. For IBAD applications, the system is equipped with a 3 cm. Commonwealth Scientific Kauffman type ion gun, capable of accelerating voltages up to 1500 V and ion beam currents up to 70 mA. The angle between the ion gun axis and substrate normal can be varied depending on the desired ion bombardment angle. The ion current density at the substrate is measured by a movable Faraday cup. In order to monitor in situ the texture development of the growing IBAD films, a STAIB RH 35 Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED) system is also installed, operating at about 35 keV. The RHEED diffraction pattern is reflected to an 8" phosphor screen, with the diffraction patterns captured by a CCD camera. A KSA RHEED control software is also installed for the control and data acquisition of RHEED patterns. For temperature control of the substrate during deposition, a temperature controller is utilized to vary the substrate temperature, which can deliver temperatures of up to 9500 C at the substrate holder.