Memorandum

To: Katalin Voros, Operations Manager

From: Robert Hamilton, Facilities Manager

Subject: 2006 Year-End Report

Date: 17 January 2007

The following 2006 year-end summary is based on engineering reports supplied by the Microlab’s equipment staff, records in the Microlab Equipment Comments/Problems logs and various files. Equipment and Facilities Management 2006 activities are encapsulated in the following sections:

I. Maintenance Staff Supervision

II. Laboratory Development: Facilities, Utilities, Equipment

III. Other Laboratory Assistance

IV. Safety – Chemical Hygiene Plan

I. Maintenance Staff Supervision

Effective January 2007 the Microlab’s equipment and facilities support staff under my supervision consists of 8.5 FTE’s. Significant maintenance staff changes in 2006:

• Jay Morford was hired as an Associate Development Engineer

• Robert Connolly was reclassified to Development Technician V
• Brian McNeil was reclassified to Development Technician V
• Robert Connolly’s position became a shared position, 50% Microlab, 50% Cory Hall Machine Shop. Robert continues to report to Phillip Guillory.

Staff Supervision is as follows:

Bob Hamilton, Equipment and Facilities Manager:

Joseph Donnelly, Associate Development Engineer

David Lo, Associate Development Engineer

Jay Morford, Associate Development Engineer

Danny Pestal, Assistant Development Engineer

Evan Stateler, Senior Development Engineer

Mike Linan, Supervisor:

Brian McNeil, Development Technician V

Phillip Guillory, Supervisor:

Robert Connelly, Development Technician V

Two Student employees

Staff Development

• Robert Connolly, UC ProCard training
• Phillip Guillory Arc Flash Electrical training
• Bob Hamilton renewed American Vacuum Society membership.
• Brian McNeil attended additional cryo-pump support training.
• Jay Morford attended an AVS 3-day course on PVD
• Danny Pestal attended a week of training class at Tystar Corp.
• Various staff attended SEMICON, the American Vacuum Society Trade Show and an industrial trade show.

Staffing levels for equipment and facilities support is adequate; cooperation amongst equipment staff remains excellent.

2006 Lab Members Picnic:

The annual picnic was held Saturday, July 22 in Tilden Park. Joe Donnelly assisted with this event along with Warner Carlisle, Marilyn Kushner and Rosemary Spivey. The weather was hot and the event a great success.

II. Laboratory Development - Facilities, Utilities, Equipment

Facilities

Microlab technical staff participated in design reviews for the CITRIS project. Their input has been acknowledged for the planning stages of the Marvell Laboratory.

• The N2 utility was piped to Professor Fearing’s lab in 319 Cory Hall. This eliminates the need to fill and transport liquid nitrogen Dewars.
• Microlab staff assisted in the development and equipment deployment in the 188/Professor Javi laboratory. This included the removal of the mrc8600 and its move to Etcheverry Hall and the installing of utilities, lights and power.
• There was continued development of room145 including the decantation of two instructional rooms.
• A new sink, “sinkcmp” was designed, fabricated and deployed in 190 Cory Hall. The 190 room was rearranged for better layout and neatness. A spin/rinser/dryer was added to the area.
• The fume exhaust in 432 was upgraded to handle equipment moves: edwardseb3, oxford and xetch.
• Additional staging was done to improve the ergonomics of the Microlab Office purchase area.
• Filtration was added to the Microlab Office makeup air.
• The “techroom” was cleaned up and test equipment installed.
• Cylinder storage was improved, installation of additional chains increased storage. Grates were added to comply with keeping cylinders from contacting wet pavement.

• Microlab floors have received better support by using maintenance calendar reminders and issuing purchase orders to pay for custodial support.

Utilities

• 95awn: Inspected by COB and EH&S. 95awn is functional and compliant. The caustic supply was changed from solid to liquid and a method to reduce exposure during handling was implemented. The 95awn operated with 100% reliability for CY 2006.
• cleanvac: Replaced the Busch 20 cfm cleanvac mechanical pump and secured a spare for backup. In addition, three Becker-brand pump were purchased for svgcoat6 and svgdev6 to replace Gast carbon-vane pumps for better service life. A Gast pump in the DCL was replaced with an oil-free Becker. A pressure gauge was installed to monitor DCL vacuum.
• chws: Two of four York compressors failed and required replacement. Because of failed compressors there were several days during CY2006 when lab temperatures exceeded specification which required the shutdown of lithographic operations. The campus is not adequately supporting HVAC for Cory Hall.
• compressed air: New compressed air filters were installed in 420-CA2 to reduce the carry-over condensed oil and water in the compressed air. CA89, a relatively new compressor failed and required replacement. CA89 is the newer of the two Cory Hall air compressors. CA88 could not be used for backup as it is worn out (25 years of service). CA88 requires replacement. We do not have a schedule for CA88 replacement from PPCS. The air dryer is not receiving adequate PPCS service and failed on several occasions. This resulted in contamination of the Cory Hall compressed air lines. The compressed air storage vessel for Cory Hall filled with water because of lack of maintenance. At Microlab suggestion an automated drain valve was installed.
• Cooling tower: Tower water flows were inadequate on several occasions because the inline sieve was not serviced. This resulted in several equipment failures and the loss of two Edwards QDP40 series pumps.
• LN/N2: Because of Stanley Hall construction LN deliveries had to be routed to the Hearst Ave curbside fill line for several periods. The Stanley project was billed for the surcharges such deliveries incur. Because of motorcycle parking one fill was missed and Cory Hall lost N2. A work-around to curbside deliveries was proposed and adopted by the Stanley Project ending the frustration of such deliveries. The Hearst Mining Building flow meter module for the N2 totalizer was found damaged when installed. It was repaired and calibrated by the manufacturer and is now functional. HMB has increased its N2 use in 2006; however, it is still less than 10% of Cory Hall’s use. N2 use now exceeds the capacity of the current vaporizer system. The vaporizer switching valve used to alternate between two vaporizers failed. A new, more robust valve was ordered and installed by Microlab staff; LN and N2 services were continuous and uninterrupted in spite of this maintenance. Additional vaporizer capacity is needed if there is an increase in N2 demand. The CITRIS building will need N2 once it is completed. Anticipating this, we will increase vaporizer capacity. Under consideration is increasing the operating pressure of LN Vessel II from 35 psi to ~135 psi. If vessel II is operated at higher pressures it can backup Vessel I for N2 use. There will be an increase in the flash-loss when LN under low pressure is required such as operation of the molecular beam epitaxy systems or Dewar fills. This loss can be tolerated.
• O2: Extending an O2 line to 188/190 Cory has eliminating the need for a LOX cylinder at this location.
• power: Two power outages of unknown cause occurred in CY2006. One was caused by a lightening strike, the other was the result of Cory Hall transformer maintenance. In addition, there was one power event in which various equipment failed; however, the Campus did not record any power anomalies for this event. Following transformer maintenance Cory Hall voltage dropped by 5% and is now under specification. Low voltage increases the current draw and exacerbates Microlab power problems. The Microlab is operating at 100% of the available power. Any new deployments of equipment will require an investment in additional power.
• System-V: Temperate control valve replaced. System-V water was extended to a Neslab System III in room 432 which cools edwards-eb3, oxford, oxford2 and rtcvd.

In summary, Campus PPCS is not providing reliable maintenance and service. This adversely impacts Cory Hall laboratories and the Microlab. As a result of the deteriorating Campus support Microlab equipment staff has extended oversight of Cory Hall equipment and facilities.

Equipment Development

• aln: Handling issues resolved and tool reliability is good. The vendor of this system has changed and the aln is now the property of Sputtered Films Inc. We have not had the opportunity to test this vendor’s support.
• aptchrome: Was rebuilt with a new PLC sequencer. At present it is not meeting process requirements and may require additional development.
• autoprobe: Developed new LED microscope illuminator ─ OEM replacement part was no longer available.
• asml: A donated CYMER laser was installed increasing asml’s reliability. The new laser greatly shortens exposure times (1/200). The asml was pm’d twice by ASML Field Engineers and is providing adequate reliability.
• centura: Raised floor installed, spare ceramic dome purchased and a shipping box procured to protect the dome when sent for cleaning.
• cmp: New k-pads tested and in use. Room 190 was reorganized and neatened. Slurry source moved to 188 Cory.
• cmpwc: Replaced by sinkcmp, a new wet sink. cmpwc is in general use and well accepted for post-cmp cleans.
• cpa: Chain tensioners redesigned and replaced greatly reducing issues with chain loss. Valve controller was repaired. cpa is operating with good reliability and excellent target support.
• dcl: Replaced vacuum pump, vacuum gauge added. The Prof. King’s Cascade probe station was moved into the dcl from 343 Cory.
• edwards: Turbo-pump replaced using a Lam Research donated spare. The mass flow control system was replaced, two new mfc’s were installed. N2/O2 selector switch added. edwards is now operating with good reliability.
• edwardseb3: Turbo failed and was replaced with a replacement turbo. The new version is a ceramic/lubed bearing as the magnetic bearing in the failed turbo was adversely affected by door closures. Vacuum issues with the door seal were resolved by fabricating single-piece o-rings.
• flipchip: Suffers from reliability issues. An independent field service representative has been in several times to make repairs. Parts are expensive with long lead times. flipchip is up for use at present.
• gases: 1%BCl3/bal. He was moved to the germane gas cabinet, C4F8 routed to the ptherm. SF6 cylinders consolidated to one source.
• heatpulses: All have been upgraded to AllWin XP software. heatpulse1 and heatpulse2 PC control boards were replaced with upgrades. All AG Heatpulse tools now operate under WINDOWS XP. The door was replaced on heatpulse2 and an additional door ordered for install on heatpulse1. Much of this work was accomplished by donations of the AllWin Corp.
• iondep: New SiC deposition tool installed in 188 Cory Hall.
• ionmill: Heavily used. The rotary table is not well designed and had to be rebuilt once during the year. Lining the bell jar with disposable polyester films has proved to be useful in keeping the process viewable. Ionmill and ultek were consolidated on one cryo-compressor to conserve space. The ionmill is now thirty years old. Its unique capabilities have found broad use by Microlab members. It is a 3” tool and as such should be considered for replacement.
• ksbonder: Control board failed. Karl Suss has been difficult to work with – parts are expensive, some have long lead times. The replacement board supplied was incomplete and time was lost because of this. ksbonder does not have a complete 6” toolset.
• lams: Upgraded lam1 to a dry pump. All four lam1 gap motors were replaced. A large amount of staff time was committed to rebuild and repair wafer handling for all Lams. Lam1, lam2 and lam5 are now operating with much better up-time and less wafer breakage. A lighted N2 or O2 switch was added to lam3 and the gas manifold modified to allow switching these gases. This facilitates using lam3 to etch refractory metals. The fume-exhaust system used for lam3 maintenance was upgraded. The lam 4 CRT/keypad was replaced. The lam5 quad seals were replaced.
• leo: New Schottky emitter installed. PC upgraded by Zeiss/SMT. Leo is having issues with this upgrade and requires frequent intervention to make operate. Zeiss acknowledges these issues are covered under warranty ─ repairs waiting on Zeiss field service availability.
• linewidth: New measuring microscope and imaging system replaces the vickers. vickers removed from service; it is no longer supportable.
• matrix: Replaced the ENI rf-generator.
• mrc8600: Decommissioned, donated to ME Professor Horowitz, moved to Etcheverry.
• nrc: Upgraded for symmetry with the v401. Bell jar replaced, bell jar hoist made more robust and a digital current readout was added for improved evaporation control. Relays will be tested as replacements for a problematic knife-switch.
• novellus: Issues remain with wafer handling and cryo-pumps. Two of three cryo-compressors were replaced; however, one of these did not meet specification following rebuild. A replacement compressor has been ordered. In spite of support issues the novellus continues to provide useable and unique films.
• oxford: Relocated from 420-GL1 to 432 to accommodate the installation of additional AMAT/Centura process chambers. New backing pump installed. Solved issue with base pressure related to gate valve not fully opening. System up and running. We attempted to have Oxford update the computer; however, they have failed to perform as a vendor.
• oxford2: Ebarra A30W installed. The pedestal heater failed. The Oxford Inst. heater design was run through SolidWorks™ analysis and found non-functional. A replacement heater was designed by Matt Wasilik and is under fabrication in the Cory Hall Machine Shop.
• piii: Significant modification to neaten and simplify setups. The wafer rotation holder was improved for safety and implant-angle accuracy, additional work was done to accommodate the handling of BF3. The high-voltage was interlocked. Ar and O2 gases were added. The water cooling was reworked. The gate valve was repaired and rotated to reduce system footprint. The exhaust plumbing was upgraded from plastic to stainless steel.
• ptherm: Cooling system replaced following a leak. The coolant leak damaged the blower and pump which were replaced. The rf match network was rebuilt following the failure of one tuning motor. A change was made from pure SF6 to SF6/10%O2 for cleaner operation. C4F8 was added. The rf generator was replaced. ptherm is a unique and popular etcher.
• p5000: Issues remain. Ozone-TEOS is not yet available, pump lifetimes are much shorter than expected. Pump failures include blowers, dry-pumps and a turbo-pump. Overheating of the rf-generators was an issue. The rf-generator cooling has been diverted to ICW cooling to alleviate this issue. One of four rf generator appears to be dead which limits us to one deposition chamber.
• primeoven: Temp controller replaced which eliminated frequent “system cold” problems. Air lines separated from N2 for more reliable actuation of the pumping system. primeoven reliability has greatly improved.
• probe145 and probe145-2: Both made operational in 145 Cory Hall. A safety interlock (32 V) was added.
• pumps: There were a large number of pump issues for CY2006. Of note is the lifetime after rebuild for the QDP series dry pumps from BOC Edwards, three turbo pumps failed and several cryo-pump series 8510 compressors failed. We are upgrading pumps in view of these failures. Of note, we purchased three, virtually new Ebarra A30W series pumps and installed these on oxford, oxford2 and rtcvd. A Kashiyama severe-service pump is on order for installation and testing on the tystar17 LSN system.
• rudolph: Drive gears rebuilt.
• sopra: PC/software upgraded to handle multi-tasking.
• sinkcmp: Fabricated by WAFAB and installed in room 190 (also see, cmp).
• sink432c: The deck and fascia of sink432c were replaced. The new layout has greatly improved accessibility. A scrubber added to remediate odor from the Pt etching (NOCl reaction products from the Pt etch has an exceptionally low odor threshold).
• svg coat/develop tracks: svgcoat6 and svgdev6 were maintenanced by Rite Track Equipment Services with good results. Digital vacuum gauges were added. Routine maintenance and spindle rebuilds were performed by Microlab support staff. Three, Becker-brand vacuum pumps were procured and will replace the current Gast, carbon-vane pumps to improve system reliability and reduce noise.
• technics-c: If signal rerouted and interlocked. We are exploring an upgrade the technics-c.
• tystar9,10,11,and 12: Converted to NC type mass flow controllers. Except for tystar19 (qty. 2 NO’s) all Tystar-lpcvd systems are now NC type mfc’s.
• tystar15: Further modified to route NH3, DCS and DSB through separate delivery lines to prevent reaction of these precursors. A second source of DSB was added to allow two groups to have their own DSB supplies. Tystar15 required both a pump and blower replacement.
• tystar16: Replaced the furnace element with a spare because guard-zone temperature control issues ─ a failed electrical connection. The foreline tailpiece connection was modified to prevent stress at the quartz/foreline transition, a cause of tube breakage. A gate-valve shunt was installed on the foreline to eliminate particles during wafer loads. This has proved a successful particle reduction strategy and will be gradually implemented on other lpcvd systems. There were an unusual number of tube changes for 2006. Some of this is attributed to very thick film depositions and recipe requiring large temperature adjustments. The mechanical pump and blower both required replacement.
• tystar17: Multiple pump failures. We will be changing to a Kashiyama screw pump for this process to see if it is more robust than an Edwards IH80/QMB500 combination.
• tystar19: B2H6 dopant changed to BCl3. Modified the dopant delivery so the gas-ring is now the default delivery path. A low-flow germane mfc was installed for better GeH4 ratio control. Modified foreline, adding a shunt system to reduce crosstalk between n-doping and p-doping.
• ultek: Rebuilt, operations restored. ultek was consolidated with ionmill to run on a single cryo-compressor.
• v401: Upgraded from diffusion pump to a cryo-pump for cleaner evaporations. A new crystal film thickness monitor head was installed.
• wis: Alternative vendor’s control boxes successfully tested and in use.

Equipment Donations

1. Applied Materials has donated two additional Centura chambers, metal and strip.
2. AllWin Corp donated control-board upgrades for heatpulse1and heatpulse2.
3. XeF2 was donated by a startup which closed. This expensive chemical material has been shared with colleagues in the Chemistry of Department.

III. Other Laboratory Assistance

The Microlab continues as a campus resource for laboratory support by providing staff on a recharge basis. Microlab staff also provided information used in the design of the new lab in the CITRIS building. In addition:

• Supported the EE143 undergraduate lab.
• A large project of replacing the Cory Hall Machine Shop lighting fixtures and painting the Machine Shop was completed using summer student help. The results were impressive with a significant improvement in lighting and a neatening of the shop areas.
• The wood shop in the basement of Cory was upgraded with new lights.
• Assisted with Cory Hall remodels and power wiring.
• Storage at the RFS was cleared. Various equipment stored their, including a 30 hp air compressor were donated to the Campus PPCS.
• Assisted Prof. Hellman in facilities issues for her labs.
• Provided assistance for the laboratories of BSAC, Professors Chang-Hasnain, Cheung, Javi, Lieberman and Subramanian.
• Designed and fabricated a gas shelf for Professor Grigoropoulos in Etcheverry

IV. Safety

No serious injuries occurred to Microlab members in CY 2006 during laboratory use. One lab member injury report was filed in CY 2006 for a lab member who was exposed to HF vapor when working with a solution. This work was not done according to Microlab safety policy. A meeting was held with this lab member to review safety protocols. Two staff work-related injuries were submitted for review:

• A back injury, attributed to lifting.
• A knee from twisting while working overhead and extended.
• Requirements of the EECS Industrial Injury Prevention Program were met for CY 2006.
• The Annual Safety Quiz was revised and administered to all Microlab members and staff.
• All 2006 safety-related calendar reminders competed and documented. Phillip Guillory and Bob Hamilton represented the Microlab at Cory Hall Safety Committee meetings.
• The Chemical Hygiene Plan was reviewed; the URL’s contained updated.
• Four Microlab safety meetings were held. The Microlab toxic gas and HAZMAT data and systems were reviewed and brought up to date. The HAZMAT binder was revised.
• Six additional battery-backed-up emergency exit lights were installed in various lab locations to provide illumination at exits in the event of a power outage.
• The Zellweger CM4 system was obviated by Draeger electrochemical sensors. The Zellweger CM4 has moved for use at Prof. Chang-Hasnain’s MOCVD lab, 159 Cory Hall.

Safety Enhancements

• Microlab hood fans were equipped with flow sensors and interfaced with the HAZMAT system. Hood fan failures now results in remote gas cylinder shutdown within the gas cabinets. Differential pressure switches were added to gas cabinets containing corrosive and toxic gases. The switches will shut off gas delivery should there be a failure of cabinet exhaust. This work was done in response to a suggestion by Philip Maynard of Environment, Health and Safety.
• Additional Draeger-Polytron toxic gas sensors were deployed
• Upgraded the PIII system to metal exhaust tubing and added a normally closed isolation valve, interlocked with the vent to the gas source delivery line.
• Additional fume exhaust was added to lam3 for use when doing maintenance.
• Replaced the use of LOX in 188 with a piped run of O2 and added an O2 flow limiting valve as requested by the UC Fire Marshall.
• New EPA-approved chemical waste bottle funnels were deployed.
• Reviewed the Microlab with EH&S inspection teams and confirmed compliance with the EH&S checklist.

Campus Safety Participation

The Microlab continues to work closely with EH&S and the Campus to enhance laboratory safety. Phillip Maynard reviewed our toxic gas compliance for 2006 and the recommendations he provided were implemented. The 95awn was reviewed with EH&S and the City of Berkeley.

V. Summary

The present Microlab facility has been in operation for more than 23 years. Our capabilities and membership demands have significantly increased over the years. It appears demands will continue this increase. Our facilities are at capacity for equipment and our utilities are running at maximum.

Nevertheless, we continue to adapt and meet new needs. As noted, our LN vessels will soon be extended to support, in addition to Cory Hall and Hearst Mining, the new, CITRIS Building. We are preparing to seamlessly modify these vessels for such support. We are operating at our maximum available power. Any increase in power consumption requires making a new run from the transformer vault in the basement. Air conditioning and equipment cooling capacity are also at maximum. These facility boundaries must be considered and mediated until CITRIS is completed and ready to be occupied.

Vacuum pump support costs are increasing. The type of pumps required for modern, aggressive processes mean we must change the way we have traditionally dealt with. Costs and lifetimes need to be re-evaluated. The implementation of the new PUMPS DATABASE will help with an analysis of pump support.

Although the six-inch upgrade was completed last year, a few pieces of equipment, which were not in the scope of that upgrade, have gained in popularity. An example is the ionmill, currently in use by 24 lab members. The unique properties of ion-milling mean its application continues to expand. A review of equipment not traditionally used for wafer processing is warranted.

Additional equipment staff training needs to be pursued in preparation for the equipment moves to the Marvell Laboratory in the new CITRIS building. One of the important skills that need development is our orbital welding capabilities.

The use of PECVD conformal-oxide and nitride has increased. The p5000 is a legacy tool of great complexity and expensive to maintain. We need to explore ways to increase pump life for the p5000. Ultimately, it may be best to seek a replacement for the p5000.

I remain confident we will continue to meet the expanding needs of our membership.