Substrate Holders
General Information
Since 1989 AJA International, Inc. has developed and manufactured a wide variety of UHV and HV substrate holders for thin film applications. All designs are 100% oxygen compatible and can accommodate substrates ranging from 1”-12” diameter. Typical features include heating, cooling (H2O/LN2), azimuthal rotation, z-motion, RF/DC biasing, reactive gas distributor, and tilting capabilities. Many of these capabilities can be combined for maximum flexibility. In addition, AJA builds its own substrate heater power supplies, and motion controllers for substrate articulation. This vertical integration results in better product performance, longevity, and after sales service and support.
Substrate Holders - Heating
AJA’s reliable substrate heaters can heat substrates from room temperature up to 800°C, 850°C or 1000°C depending on size and heater style. Substrate handling can vary from small pieces to 300mm Ø. Many of our substrate heaters can be equipped with stepper motor controlled rotation to achieve excellent temperature uniformity, co-deposition of alloy films, and pristine/repeatable ultra-thin films. AJA also offers substrate heaters optimized for static heating applications, like combinatorial chemistry, where intentional gradients are required. Additional features can include motorized z-motion, RF/DC biasing, reactive gas distributor, substrate shutter, quartz crystal monitor, and in-situ mask exchange system.
12” substrate heater with 600C heating, RF bias, 0-40 RPM rotation
Substrate Holders - Cooling
AJA International, Inc. has developed and manufactured a wide variety of cooled substrate holders for situations where substrates need to be actively cooled or be kept at limited temperatures. These range from LN2 reservoir to LN2 drip to water cooled versions depending on the application. Custom, backside He gas cooled models are available for ion milling or sputter down configurations. Special cryogenic cold-finger models have also been built although these do not permit substrate rotation. Sizes from 1" to 300mm Ø are available. RF (or DC) biasing is possible for some designs.
4” LN2 cooled substrate holder with 1 liter reservoir
Substrate Holders - Tilting
AJA’s SHQ-TS Series can be tilted between +/- 200° in the plane of the substrate surface. With stepper motor control, angular precision is within 0.1°. Azimuthal rotation is available on many of our configuration in conjunction with heating, water-cooling, and RF/DC biasing. Stepper motor controlled tiling and LN2 cooling is also available. This powerful combination of features are typically used in evaporation, ion milling, and multi-technique systems (sputter + e-beam).
6” H2O cooled, rotating, tilting substrate holder
Substrate Holders - Speciality
AJA International, Inc. has frequently been called on to develop a specialty substrate holder, heater, cooler, etc. when existing designs would not accomplish the researcher's objective. This often involves detailed design consultations (typically free of charge) where new design ideas are explored in conjunction with AJA's extensive experience. Some of these efforts have resulted in new "standard specialty holders" as shown in the neighboring picture.
(4) 4” planetary substrate holder