Ellipsometer_SOW_FINAL.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

TITLE: In Situ Spectroscopic Ellipsometer LAB REQUESTING SERVICE: Material Measurement Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, Chemical Process and Nuclear Measurements Group

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Chemical Sciences Division, part of The National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST's) Material Measurement Laboratory (MML), serves as the Nation's reference laboratory for chemical measurements and standards to enhance U.S. industry's productivity and competitiveness, assure equity in trade, and provide quality assurance for chemical measurements used for assessing and improving public health, safety, and the environment. The Chemical Sciences Division (CSD) is responsible for providing the measurement science, standards, technology, data and chemical informatics required to support the nation’s needs in the determination of chemical composition and chemical structure of gases, organic, and inorganic species and in the measurement of a wide variety of chemical properties and processes, including chemical reactivity and mechanisms, and thermochemical properties. In support of this mission, the Chemical Process and Nuclear Measurements Group, within the CSD, constructs and maintains a variety of ultra-high purity atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems for depositing thin films of oxides, nitrides, and chalcogenides. The requested in situ spectroscopic ellipsometer system will examine oxide, nitride, and chalcogenide thin film deposition processes in real time. The requested instrument will facilitate the identification of critical process parameters and their correlation with other thin film measurements.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

The requested in situ spectroscopic ellipsometer system will be employed to examine thin film deposition processes in real-time and accelerate the development of chemical processes for ultra-thin films with enhanced electrical and optical properties. The spectroscopic ellipsometer system will consist of a rotating compensator spectroscopic ellipsometer designed to be mounted on a vacuum chamber, the necessary control electronics and power supplies, any necessary cables, chamber mounting and alignment hardware, a pair of optical windows, an ex situ test base, a computer for instrument control and data acquisition, real-time data acquisition and analysis software, additional software licenses for analysis and model development, and an external digital interface for two-way communication with customer-owned equipment. In addition to delivery of the system, on-site installation and training will be required.

SPECIFICATIONS

Industry Terms understood by all Contractors: In Situ Spectroscopic Ellipsometer

The Contractor shall provide a rotating compensator spectroscopic ellipsometer designed to be mounted on a vacuum chamber, the necessary control electronics and power supplies, any necessary cables, chamber mounting and alignment hardware, a pair of optical windows, an ex situ test base, a computer for instrument control and data acquisition, real-time data acquisition and analysis software, additional software licenses for analysis and model development, and an external digital interface for two-way communication with customer-owned equipment. In addition, the contractor shall provide on-site installation and training.

System Requirements:

1. ATTACHMENT TO VACUUM CHAMBER: System should be designed and built for mounting onto a vacuum chamber for in situ data acquisition. Mounts for attachment to vacuum chamber should be designed to accommodate 1-1/3” or 2-3/4” CF flanges.

2. WAVELENGTH: Instrument should be spectroscopic and include the wavelength range from 250 nm to 1000 nm. The system should capture a minimum of 450 wavelengths in the spectrum. All wavelengths should be acquired concurrently.

3. BEAM ALIGNMENT: The polarizer arm should be equipped with a kinematic stage for tilt adjustment to facilitate alignment of the beam on the substrate. The analyzer arm should be equipped with a kinematic stage for tilt and translation adjustment for alignment of the reflected beam on the detector. The analyzer unit should be equipped with a 4-quandrant detector to facilitate accurate beam alignment when moving the ellipsometer between different vacuum chambers and different external bases.

4. MEASUREMENT: Capable of determining Psi data from 0° to 90°. Capable of determining Delta data from 0° to 360°. Measurement precision of 0.003 nm (1 standard deviation) of a 2 nm SiO2 layer on a silicon substrate.

5. DATA ACQUISITION SPEED: Spectral acquisition rate should be ≤0.066 s (15 Hz) for the entire wavelength range.

6. OPTICAL DESIGN: Instrument should be of a continuously rotating compensator ellipsometer (RCE) type.

7. OPTICAL WINDOWS: System should include a pair of fused silica view ports for installation on 1-1/3” or 2-3/4” CF flanges.

8. TEST BASE: System should include a basic test stage for ex situ testing and calibration.

9. COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE: The instrument must be computer controlled and the necessary computer and software should be included with the system. System operating software shall facilitate ease of instrument use for multi-users. The following software requirements should also be met:

9.a. Software should provide both data acquisition and analysis.

9.b. Software should include calibrations, data acquisition of psi, delta, and % depolarization.

9.c. Software should provide automated programs for the extraction of optical constants n and k, and film thickness, both for isotropic and anisotropic thin films.

9.d. Software should allow for real-time measurement, analysis, and display of acquired data, including Mueller Matrix analysis.

9.e. Software should include facilities for multi-sample analysis (concurrent fitting of unknown parameters across a self-consistent dataset), sensitivity/uniqueness analysis (error-minimization analysis on a parametric basis), automated initial value guessing, and corrections for window effects to mitigate errors from strain on vacuum chamber view ports.

9.f. Software should include a large n and k database including widely used materials in the semiconductor industry.

9.g. Software should include a large database of parametric models.

9.h. Five or more software site licenses should be offered.

9.i. Contractor must provide on-site installation of the ellipsometer system.

9.j. Contractor must provide on-site training of software and system operation.

10. DATA COMPATIBILITY: Data files and analytical models generated by the system should be cross-compatible with existing ellipsometers at NIST to facilitate exchange of spectroscopic data and models among systems with complementary measurement capabilities. This includes the in situ collection of spectroscopic ellipsometry data from a surface, the subsequent collection of ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry data from the same surface using a separate instrument covering additional wavelength ranges and angle, the subsequent refinement of the optical model using the ex situ data set, and the subsequent re-analysis of the in situ data based on the refined and fully-constrained model.

11. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION: System should include an external communication interface for communication between the ellipsometer and auxiliary customer-owned computer systems used to control ALD and CVD reactor hardware. The following communications requirements should also be met:

11.a. System should include a dedicated hardware interface for measurement triggering by TTL and relay logic 11.b. System should include two-way communication over a TCP/IP link 11.c. System should include two-way communication that allows for the triggering of one-time and continuous data acquisition 11.d. System should include two-way communication that allows for the starting, pausing, resuming, and stopping of data acquisition, including endpoint detection 11.e. System should include two-way communication that allows for querying the state of the ellipsometer 11.f. System should include two-way communication that allows for polling of results (such as layer thickness values) from a model fit to the acquired data on a synchronous and asynchronous basis

12. UPGRADEABLE DESIGN: System should be modular and upgradeable at a future date with respect to the wavelength ranges accessed by the light source and the detector assemblies.

13. CALIBRATION WAFERS: SiO2 on Si calibration wafer(s) 50 mm in diameter should be included with system.

14. INSTALLATION: The system should be installed by the Contractor at NIST. The installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating, set-up of system, demonstration that it meets or exceeds specifications, basic maintenance, calibration, and troubleshooting procedures.

15. TRAINING: The Contractor shall conduct one training session for up to 3 users at NIST immediately following installation. Training should provide thorough demonstration on how to operate the system and analyze data.

Warranty:

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a 12-month warranty for the equipment. The warranty shall commence upon delivery of the system.

III. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Delivery, installation, and training shall occur within 150 days from award of this requirement.

IV. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All work shall be completed at the Contractor’s facility. Equipment will be delivered to NIST at 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

V. DELIVERABLES

On-site Installation

150 days after award of this requirement.

Training

150 days after award of this requirement.

VI. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY

The NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) will perform acceptance tests to verify that all performance standards in this statement of work have been met.

VII. RISK ASSESSMENT

The HSPD-12 Security Risk Level assigned to this Task Order is: Low

VIII. GENERAL INFORMATION

Patent Rights: The Government retains a Government use license to all inventions arising from this work.

Media Inquiries: The Contractor employee shall not respond to any media inquiries. Any inquiries from the media shall be immediately relayed to the TPOC, COR, and/or CO. There shall be no interviews, comments, or any other response without the knowledge and approval of the NIST Director.

IX. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA AND PAYMENT

The Contractor shall demonstrate that all performance standards in this statement of work have been met. The requirement will not be accepted until the Contractor has delivered, installed, and trained NIST staff and the TPOC has confirmed that it meets all specifications.

Advance payment is not authorized. Payment will be made upon receipt and acceptance of the required deliverables.