Downstream Asher
Developed and produced by ibss Group in
cooperation with the inventor of a unique, patented plasma source, the GV10x is
the new generation in situ Downstream Asher. Competitively
priced, the GV10x Downstream Asher reduces carbon & hydrocarbon
contamination 10 to 20 times more effectively than traditional methods at
vacuum pressures safe for turbo molecular pump (TMP) operation. Artifacts in
SEM images are gone; the microscope maintains high resolution and beam stability.
Black scan squares are eliminated in SEM images. Carbon contamination in FIB
and TEM systems can be controlled as well.
Highlights:
The GV10x, when coupled to the Gentle Asher™
Chamber, can clean specimens prior to examination. Reports from customers claim
that this combination mitigates carbon on TEM holders/specimens and SEM samples
with less damage and at less than ½ the cost of typical 'plasma cleaners'.
The GV10x Downstream (DS) Asher is the new
paradigm in
situ cleaner for vacuum chambers. The GV10x
reduces carbon & hydrocarbons ~10 to 20 times more effectively &
uniformly than first generation methods with the delicate DS process. The Turbo
Molecular Pump (TMP) can be operated safely without interrupting the software
control for SEM, FIB or TEM systems.
Typically the GV10x DS Asher uses air or oxygen gas to create oxygen radicals that remove hydrocarbon
contamination. Additionally, results from NIST show that using hydrogen gas in the GV10x DS Asher is safe and effective at removing
carbon deposits on multilayer mirrors and other substrates and samples
sensitive to oxidation. The ibss Group GV10x DS Ashercan be easily moved between several different laboratory
instruments. Cleaning periods vary from chamber to chamber. The DS process,
frequently called the remote plasma process, does not produce kinetic
impingement, sputter damage, or sample heating, unlike usual plasma cleaners.
The GV10x
DS Asher can quickly clean
samples inside an SEM, allowing for rapid turnaround of artifact removal,
typically in just a few minutes, without venting the microscope chamber.
The ibss Group Gentle Asher with a GV10x and pump extends the Downstream process to pre-clean
specimens and TEM holders prior to insertion into the EM, increasing the time
between microscope cleans.
The GV10x is a new
paradigm for cleaning chambers. The process more quickly and with greater
cleaning uniformity removes carbon contamination on surfaces in the far corners
of a vacuum chamber that can constantly desorb and then recontaminate the rest
of chamber. Greater choice of power and pressure has allowed the GV10x to be
applied, in addition to SEM chambers, to clean synchrotron and EUV optics,
CDSEMs, Review SEMs and XPS systems where large chambers need to be cleaned
uniformly and rapidly.
ibss Group, Inc. introduced the Gentle Asher to extend the GV10x investment to
cleaning specimens before insertion into the EM chamber. The Gentle
Asher™ Chamber with a GV10x connected, GA/GV, is well suited for preventing
black scan square buildup.
After de-contaminating an EM chamber to acceptable HC levels,
one can utilize the DS process for sample cleaning and storage by simply moving
the GVx Source onto the Gentle Asher Chamber. Reports from customers claim
this cost effective combination delicately removes contamination from TEM
holders and any type sample with less damage while keeping HC levels manageable
in CDSEM, SEM, FIB and TEM. Pre-cleaning samples and holders prevents
contaminating the chamber gas phase that prolongs time between microscope
cleanings.
The GV10x Downstream Asher’s
ability to remove carbon contamination is a quantum leap beyond the traditional
methods of mitigating contamination using cold trapping, nitrogen purging, and
other plasma cleaners. The GV10x, with its extended power and pressure
range (5 to 100 Watts and 2 to <0.005 Torr), represents a paradigm shift in
the carbon decontamination of SEMs and other vacuum systems.
Atomic oxygen and hydrogen
eliminates contamination by converting the surface carbon into gas phase
molecules which are then pumped out of chambers - not just immobilized on
trapping surfaces. Sample artifacts such as polymerized deposits are
minimized by low carbon levels in SEM chambers.
Since cleaning periods will vary between
instruments, the GV10x DS Asher can be used on several laboratory tools by
moving the GV10x Source from instrument to instrument. Relocation of the
GV10x DS Asher can be facilitated by placing an isolation valve between the
GV10x Source and the instrument vacuum chamber, as seen on the S-4700 FESEM.
As nanoscience progresses, electron beams become
more tightly focused, electron beam energies decrease, and precursor gas use
increases, high resolution will become increasingly more dependent on keeping
carbon contamination at low levels. De-contamination and
anti-contamination by remote or downstream plasma process accomplishes this
task quickly, easily, and in a cost-effective way. Unlike kinetic sputter
etch cleaning in usual 'plasma cleaners', the downstream plasma process is a
gentle chemical etch. The process has revolutionized the means to
eliminate carbon molecules and hydrocarbons in vacuum chambers.
Well suited for large volume chambers and heavily
contaminated surfaces, the GV10x DS Asher takes less time to achieve pristinely
cleaned chambers, since it develops higher atomic oxygen and hydrogen
concentrations to remove contamination with the same delicate result but in
less time. Customers say that, ‘…using the GV10x we can achieve efficient and
uniform hydrocarbon control throughout large chambers in 1/10 of the time’ and
with more uniformity than with established methods’.
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