Technical equipment

The original "Microlab" was opened in 1984 as one of the first microsystems technology labs in Germany. Since then the facilities have been continuously expanded with the latest microsystems technology equipment. A complete silicon technology production line is run in several cleanrooms.

We offer:

 

Thin film processes

Beschichtungsprozesse

We have a variety of coating equipment for microsystems technology including for Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD.)

  • Atomic Layer Deposition (thermal or plasma-assisted). Possible coatings include: Al2O3, HfO2, TiO2, ZnO. Equipment is connected in a cluster plant with RIE and PECVD.
  • Vapour coating of various metals
  • Chemical vapour deposition (CVD): PECVD (Si3N4 with controllable tension, SiC and amorphic Si, SiO2 ) as well as LPCVD (low-tension Si3N4)
  • Sputter unit (Pt, Si3N4, Ti, Al/Cu...)
  • Micro-electroplating: a fountain and a rack system

Photolithography

Photolithography is a fundamental structuring method in microsystems. A variety of photolithographic processes are available in the yellow room in the lab:

  • Grey scale exposure for fabrication of 3D structures
  • Direct laser writing for structures up to 600 nm 
  • In-house production of masks
  • Contact exposure / mask aligner
  • Alignment precision up to 200 nm, IR alignment, front and backside alignment

Thermal processes

In the cleanroom there are more than 8 tube furnaces for various semi-conductor applications:

  • Oxidation
  • Doping with boron and phosphor
  • Diffusion
  • Annealing

Etching technology

Over 25 different wet-chemical etching baths and several dry etching systems make it possible to structure a variety of coatings. In particular, we have many years of experience in the anodization of porous silicon.

  • Electrochemical etching: anodizing equipment for porous silicon in hydrofluoric acid solutions
  • Dry etching with plasma (RIE suitable for multiple layers)
  • Wet-chemical etching (HF, Caro, KOH; Huang A/B...)

Packaging of integrated circuits

The chips are separated in the backend area and processed to become functional systems:

  • Laser cutting
  • Wafer saw
  • Chip bonder
  • Wire bonder

Characterization

The following tools are available for the optical, electrical and mechnical analysis of microsystems:

  • Atomic force microscope (AFM)
  • Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
  • Optical 3D profiler (white light interferometer)
  • Optical thickness measurement using ellipsometer and spectrometer
  • Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with a microscope for VIS-, MIR- and NIR-spectrum
  • Micro hardness
  • Profilometer
  • Capacitance voltage measurement
  • Surface and pore size measurement using physisorption
  • Contact angle measurement
  • Vibration and distance measurement using laser interferometer
  • Various microscopes and other measurement devices

Design and simulation

For concept testing and analysis of microsystems, we work with the following:

You can take a virtual tour round the lab here:

Virtual tour 1
Virtual tour 2