CAC Name: ReynoldsTech Conductive Polymer Vapor Deposition Tool - Rm 224

Cluster tool for vapor-deposition of PEDOT or similar polymers

Description:

The ReynoldsTech PEDOT:TOS vapor-deposition cluster tool deposits high-conductivity thin films of the conductive polymer, EDOT:TOS [ethylenedioxythiophene doped with p-toluenesulfonate hexahydrate(Tosylate, TOS)] that are suitable for use in device and bioelectronics applications. This serves as an alternate method to traditional spin-coating or ink jet printing processes and allows for higher quality layers.

Adjustable parameters in the recipe include: spin-coating speed and duration, the temperature and duration of two bake steps, the duration of the vapor-phase polymerization (VPP) step, the temperature of the EDOT cruicible and the substrate stage in the VPP chamber, the duration of the final ethanol rinse, and the number of times the cycle should be repeated (for multi-layer films).

Capabilities:

The purpose of this tool is to build layers of EDOT on a substrate virtually hands-free by the use of an automated wafer-handling robot. You input a recipe via the terminal and load a 2 1/2-inch round glass wafer. The tool will carry out all of the steps (once or multiple times), and at the end you remove the wafer.

The tool is currently dedicated to the application of EDOT:TOS(ethylenedioxythiophene: iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate hexahydrate). TOS is applied via the spinner as a primer, and the EDOT is applied in the vapor chamber. Conditions in the chamber are nitrogen-enriched vacuum with low heat that allows for the EDOT to be vaporized and deposited.

A wafer is loaded into the tool, and an automated mechanical arm takes it to the various stations. In each run, TOS is spun onto the wafer and cured on a hotplate. The wafer is then delivered to a heated vacuum chamber where EDOT is vaporized in a crucible and deposited. The wafer is cured on another hotplate, and the resulting salts are rinsed away in an ethanol bath and dried under lo-pressure nitrogen. The robotic arm will take the wafer back to the loading station or back to the spinner to start another cycle as directed by the recipe. Multiple cycles can be carried out to build layers on the substrate. All of the stations can be controlled with respect to time, temperature and spin speed via user-defined recipes.

Adjustable parameters in the recipe include: spin-coating speed and duration, the temperature and duration of two bake steps, the duration of the vapor-phase polymerization (VPP) step, the temperature of the EDOT cruicible and the substrate stage in the VPP chamber, the duration of the final ethanol rinse, and the number of times the cycle should be repeated (for multi-layer films).

Processes Available:

• EDOT:TOS
• PEDOT:TOS

Additional Resources: