The Cee Model 100 and 150 spinner module incorporates a stainless steel spin bowl. The spin bowl drain and exhaust connect, through Teflon (PTFE) tubing, to the main utilities bracket on the rear of the machine. The main drive spindle for the spin chuck is made of hardened, corrosion-resistant, alloy steel. The spindle is driven by a toothed belt and a servo motor. An integral optical encoder provides feedback for the closed-loop, digital, motor control system.
Spin Coating Process Theory
Spin coating has been used for several decades for the application of thin films. A typical process involves depositing a small puddle of a fluid resin onto the center of a substrate and then spinning the substrate at high speed. Centripetal acceleration will cause the resin to spread to, and eventually off, the edge of the substrate. Final film thickness and other properties will depend on the nature of the resin (viscosity, drying rate, percent solids, surface tension, etc.) and the parameters chosen for the spin process. Factors such as final rotational speed, acceleration, and fume exhaust contribute to how the properties of coated films are defined. One of the most important factors in spin coating is repeatability. Subtle variations in the parameters that define the spin process can result in drastic variations in the coated film. The following is an explanation of some of the effects of these variations.
Spin Coating Process Description
A typical spin process consists of a dispense step in which the resin fluid is deposited onto the substrate surface, a high speed spin step to thin the fluid, and a drying step to eliminate excess solvents from the resulting film. Two common methods of dispense are Static dispense, and Dynamic dispense.
Static dispense is simply depositing a small puddle of fluid on or near the center of the substrate. This can range from 1 to 10 cc depending on the viscosity of the fluid and the size of the substrate to be coated. Higher viscosity and or larger substrates typically require a larger puddle to ensure full coverage of the substrate during the high speed spin step.
Dynamic dispense is the process of dispensing while the substrate is turning at low speed. A speed of about 200 rpm is commonly used during this step of the process. This serves to spread the fluid over the substrate and can result in less waste of resin material since it is usually not necessary to deposit as much to wet the entire surface of the substrate. This is a particularly advantageous method when the fluid or substrate itself has poor wetting abilities and can eliminate voids that may otherwise form.
After the dispense step it is common to accelerate to a relatively high speed to thin the fluid to near its final desired thickness. Typical spin speeds for this step is 1000 to 2000 rpm, again depending on the properties of the fluid as well as the substrate. This step can take from 10 seconds to several minutes. The combination of spin speed and time selected for this step will generally define the final film thickness.
In general, higher spin speeds and longer spin times create thinner films. It is not recommended that the parameters of this step be adjusted for spin times of less than 30 seconds. The spin coating process involves a large number of variables that tend to cancel and average out during the spin process and it is best to allow sufficient time for this to occur. It is common for very viscous films tu require several minutes to thin out and to achieve a uniform coat thickness across the substrate.
Theory of Operation
A separate drying step is sometimes added after the high speed spin step to further dry the film without substantially thinning it. This can be advantageous for thick films since long drying times may be necessary to increase the physical stability of the film before handling. Without the drying step problems can occur during handling, snch as pouring off the side of the substrate when removing it from the spin bowl. In this case a moderate spin speed of about 25% of the high speed spin will generally suffice to aid in drying the film without significantly changing the film thickness. Each program on a Cee spin coater may contain up to ten separate process steps. While most spin processes require only two or three, this allows the maximum amount of flexibility for complex spin coating requirements.