New Equipment and Process Capabilities

NFF(CWB) has been awarded REC funding for the 2022/23 fiscal year to acquire a new Oxford Plasma Pro 100 ICP-RIE system. This system will fulfill the increasing demand for high-quality, non-standard Silicon Oxide and Silicon Nitride etching processes in NFF(CWB). The system offers excellent etching rates and uniformity across a wide range of applications, and it is scheduled to be delivered to HKUST in 2024.

In addition to the Oxford ICP etcher, NFF(CWB) has also been awarded REC funding for the 2022/23 fiscal year to purchase a Hitachi tabletop SEM and a High-Resolution Field Emission SEM.

Oxford Plasma Pro 100 etching system

A new table-top mask-less laser direct writer

The Heidelberg table-top µMLA system is a maskless R&D tool for application requiring microstructures, such as microfluidics, small-scale mask writing, micro-optics, sensors and MEMS, etc. The µMLA system is a flexible tool offers two exposure modes: Standard Raster Scan Exposure mode for fast and excellent image quality and Vector Scan mode for patterning continuous smooth curves in a faster and more accurate way. In both exposure modes, it also offers superior writing results.

Heidelberg µMLA table-top maskless writer

Both Hitachi SEM systems are scheduled to be delivered to HKUST in 2024.

The Hitachi High-Resolution FE-SEM SU8600 has several significant technical improvements, including a maximum magnification of 2,000,000 times, an image resolution of 0.6nm (at 15kV), the highest SEM image resolution of 10,240 x 7,680 pixels, a higher probe current of 20nA, and a new deceleration mode feature that alleviates charge-up problems in non-conductive samples, with a minimum working distance of 7mm.

The Hitachi tabletop SEM TM 4000plus (II) is a small-scale system that employs a conventional tungsten thermionic emission gun. It has the advantages of easy operation and fast startup time, making it suitable for teaching and demonstration purposes. Its new feature, 'low vacuum operation mode,' is especially useful for quick and non-conductive sample inspections.

Hitachi FE-SEM SU8600

Hitachi table-top SEM TM4000plus (II)

New wet-station C

Wet-stations upgrade: NFF(CWB) is continuing to replace wet-station modules due to equipment aging. The new wet-station modules have arrived, and the replacement work for wet-station C and wet-station D will be carried out starting in November 2023.