More Robust Growth Rate Fitting Results With Damped Sine Fit

The kSA 400 RHEED analysis tool has a new damped sine fit analysis feature to measure growth rate from RHEED intensity oscillations in real-time and in post-process data analysis. The new method automatically calculates initial estimates of the fitting parameters, leading to more robust fitting results with minimal user intervention required.

In the case of layer-by-layer growth, the intensity of the RHEED spots oscillates with a period equal to the time required to deposit a single monolayer. These oscillations can be fit by a damped sine function to determine the growth rate of the material in monolayers/sec or nm/sec (if the monolayer thickness is known). kSA 400 uses a least-squares method, which requires initial estimates of the fitting function’s parameters. By implementing a simplified model to automatically calculate these estimates, kSA’s new damped sine analysis fits more quickly and reliably. It also works well with strongly varying backgrounds.

Watch the video to see it in action!


Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy – k-Space Progresses with $1.2M SBIR Phase II award from the U.S. DOE

As part of a $1.2M SBIR Phase II project, k-Space has developed a spectrometer-based, multi-channel Atomic Absorption instrument. This is suitable for applications that need high sensitivity and place a premium on long-term stability.

k-Space has performed significant field testing on a Production Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) system, focusing on the simultaneous deposition of In, Ga, and Al. In addition, k-Space has improved the long-term stability and noise in the measured deposition rate.

One major advantage customers gain by using the kSA Atomic Absorption tool is being able to measure multiple elements simultaneously because a spectrometer can monitor the signal at multiple wavelengths in the same measurement.

Stay tuned for the commercial release of this new instrument!


New Standalone kSA Emissometer Offers Automatic Pocket and Web Analysis, Faster Operation

kSA Emissometer’s updated standalone design now offers non-contact, high-resolution emissivity, UV fluorescence and height mapping for production wafer carriers/platens up to 800 mm in diameter. The increased scanning range provides customers with a single tool that can be used for k465i and the EPIK700 wafer carriers as well as for carriers used in other deposition chambers.

The commercial advantage of owning this tool is that the quality and life cycle of the wafer carriers are quantified. By measuring the wafer carrier’s specular reflectance, diffuse reflectance, emissivity, and height after each deposition cycle and/or cleaning cycle, potential carrier defects are identified. With this data, the carrier’s lifetime is ascertained based on recorded quantitative results rather than by human inspection. The optional UV fluorescence measurement can identify residual contamination.

The latest kSA Emissometer design also offers automatic height adjustment. k-Space’s optical measurement head position is electronically controlled ensuring each measurement is properly focused on the wafer carrier, even if the user is running wafer carriers with differing overall heights. This new feature increases the kSA Emissometer’s throughput in addition to minimizing user error. Updated kSA software also offers automatic wafer pocket detection for automated web and pocket statistical analysis at the end of each run. This additional feature facilitates customer database logging to track the measurements of the web and each pocket individually over time.

For the latest details download the kSA Emissometer Product Specifications.



Come Visit Us at These Upcoming Events!

UK Semiconductors 2018 (UKS 2018) – July 4-5, 2018 – The University of Sheffield, England

20th International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (ICMBE 2018) – September 2-18, 2018 – Shanghai, China

Japan Society of Applied Physics – 79th Fall Meeting 2018 (JSAP Fall Meeting, 2018) – September 18-21, 2018 – Nagoya Congress Center, Japan

34th North American Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (NAMBE 2018) – September 30 – October 5, 2018 – Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada

For more events, visit k-space.com.

Thin Film and Industrial Metrology Systems

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