A01_-_Salient_Characteristics.doc

Salient Characteristics

Commercial Availability Certification:

I have evaluated the commercial marketplace and determined that all of the salient characteristics documented below are available in products/services offered in the commercial marketplace.

Signature (typed name): William Benard Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

The Contractor shall deliver and install at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Adelphi, Maryland a quantity of one (1) fully functional Silicon Carbide Hot Wall Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) System.

CLIN 0001 Base-One (1) Silicon Carbide Hot Wall Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) System that meets the minimum requirements as stated below:

1. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System accommodates Silicon and 4H- and 3C-Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrates. The system will accomodate and include fixtures for the following size of substrates: 100 millimeter (mm) wafer, 75 mm wafer, a quarter (¼) of a 100 mm wafer, a quarter (¼) of a 75 mm wafer and multiple 10 mm2 substrates. The HWCVD System will be capable of growing 4H-SIC, 6H-SiC, 3C-SiC and graphene epilayers.

2. The Contractor shall ensure the HWCVD System is fully equipped, functional as a whole system and meets the minimum requirements as follows:

· Capable of being operated in automatic mode, utilizing programmed process operations, semi-automatic mode, utilizing safety interlock features; or manual mode, allowing independent control of all operating components.

· Capable to meet current industry standard requirements for safety including the use of Emergency Off (EMO) panic buttons, shielding, interlocks for hazardous areas including high voltages and moving parts, and over temperature shutoffs should the heating mechanism malfunction.

3. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System includes a Process Chamber with the following specifications:

· Quartz glass horizontal reactor tube capable of accommodating a coated graphite susceptor that can process a Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) standard 150mm 4H-SiC wafer.

· Quartz glass adaptors to provide laminar flow of source and carrier gases across the wafer.

· Stainless-steel components to comprise the remainder of the vacuum chamber with o-ring or comparable seals to quartz components.

· All required inner parts in SiC or TaC coated graphite

· All components must be vacuum and process flow compatible with halogenated precursors (including, but not limited to, Hydrogen Chloride gas and Trichlorosilane)

· Reactor cabinet with connection points for gas exhaust.

· All parts of the cabinet are ventilated to dilute any possible gas leaks and to remove excess heat

· Access for downstream mass spectroscopy sampling.

· RF power generator and matching units with connecting cables capable of operation up to 1700 degrees Celsius (°C) (4H-SiC is approximately 1600°C substrate temperature, 3C-SiC is between 900 and 1200°C).

· Temperature will be controlled with a two-color pyrometer or equivalent

· Primary carrier gas for the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) reactor is Hydrogen, must be able to heat under Argon gas flow (NO Hydrogen) for graphene formation

· Temperature uniformity across a 6inch (in.,”) wafer is +/- 5% at 1600°C.

· All electrical components are isolated from vacuum.

· Downstream loading port.

· Loading port must be load-locked.

· A transfer arm mechanism moves a substrate carrier to facilitate substrate transfer.

4. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System includes a Vacuum System meeting the following specifications:

· Process chamber is pumped by a dry process pump during growth, Ebara or equivalent

· Process chamber is able to be evacuated by a turbomolecular pump, capable of a gas through put at full rotational speed for H2 of > 10.5 Torr l/second (s), with oil-free backing pump

· Service lines exist between both pumps to directly pump all connections to bubblers and incoming gas lines

· Leak test port

· Process pressure from approximately fifty (50) Torr to six hundred (600) Torr

· Pressure measurement is accomplished through the entire range from high vacuum (1x10-9 Torr) to atmosphere (760 Torr) to three significant figures.

· Throttle valve with automatic pressure control

· Trap with particle filter

· Overpressure relief check valves

5. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System includes a Process Gas Distribution Cabinet meeting the following specifications:

· All parts of the cabinet are ventilated to dilute any possible gas leaks

· Includes connection points for incoming gases from the facility gas supply

· Digital, metal-seal mass flow controllers and pressure controls

· Safety interlock to remotely shut off all process gasses from local or remote alarms

· Separate run line and vent line

· All manifold components to enable switching from run to vent of all source, push and carrier gasses

· One (1) Hydrogen carrier gas line (up to 120 l/minute (min) 60 to 150 Pounds Per Square Inch (psi) dependent on hydrogen purifier requirements)

· One (1) Argon gas line with SAES Getters MonoTorr or equivalent, must be able to run argon as a carrier gas as well as for graphite cooling requirements (up to 25 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) carbon gas line capable of carrying C3H8, C2H4 or CH4 (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) carbon gas line capable of carrying C3H8, C2H4 or CH4 with SAES Getters PS4-MT3 or equivalent for stable isotope source (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) silane (SiH4) gas line (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) SiH4 gas line for stable isotope source (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) Halogenated silicon source gas line (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· One (1) HCl gas line (up to 5 l/min at 30 psi)

· N2 gas line(s) for nitrogen doping (able to achieve n-type doping 5x1014 to 1x1019 cm-3 for a prescribed growth rate) (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· Two (2) additional gas source lines (up to 2 l/min at 30 psi)

· Trimethylaluminum line(s) for p-type doping with thermostatic bath (able to achieve p-type doping from approximately 5x1014 to 5x1018 cm-3 for a prescribed growth rate)

· Two (2) additional doping lines for bubblers to be added at a later date for rare-earth metal organic precursors.

6. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System includes a Water Distribution Manifold meeting the following specifications:

· Manual shut off valves

· Interlocked flow switches to critical components

· Interlocked temperature sensors to critical components

7. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD System includes Power Distribution meeting the following minimum specifications:

· The Contractor shall ensure that the electrical facilities requirements of the HWCVD are 60Hz and based on voltages (120, 208, 240 or 480 Volts (V)) commonly used in the United States of America.

· Component wiring is routed to a centralized power distribution panel for each primary module (This does not include power to the radio frequency (RF) generator)

· Emergency Off (EMO) protection

· Appropriate safety interlocks

8. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD system includes a complete 100mm wafer capable susceptor meeting the following specifications:

· Susceptor is comprised of coated graphite parts for a single 100mm wafer, capable of upgrade to 150mm

· Five (5) Wafer carriers for a 100mm wafer, a 75mm wafer, a quarter of a 100 mm wafer, a quarter of a 75mm wafer and for up to 24 10 square millimeter (mm2) substrates

9. The Contractor shall ensure that the HWCVD system contains Software & Computer Controls with the following features:

· Screen layouts follow the guidelines of SEMI E95-0200 (specifications for Human interface for semiconductor manufacturing equipment)

· Personal Computer (PC) provides supervisory computer control over vacuum pumping, vent, transfer and process.

· Provides automatic recipe control capability

· Recipe tracer viewable on all screens

· Programming/control is accomplished via a keyboard, mouse and touch screen

· Three (3) levels of password protection: Operator, Administrator and Service

· Includes Graphical User Interface (GUI) display of the following HWCVD System parameters:

· Vacuum: Process chamber and foreline pump, valve and gauge indicators/controls; purge gas indicators/controls

· Process Pressure indicators/controls

· Deposition: Source carrier and reactant gas indicators/controls

· Heating: Substrate indicators/controls; source heating indicators/controls; over-heat protection

· HWCVD Setup: process sequence; source and mass flow controller (MFC) setup

· Transfer: Motor indicators/controls; substrate pin-lift indicators/controls

· Operation Navigation: Maintenance screen; password level; data log button; standard recipe buttons (i.e. pump, vent, transfer, heating)

· The HWCVD System can be run automatically or manually from the keyboard or touch screen

· All safety functions and interlocks

· System will interlock with building safety alarms; such that an external alarm will place the system into a safe standby mode

· Software Process programming and history logging is accessible as readable text, comma separated variable, or Excel data file.

· The Contractor shall provide all new software releases, upgrades and patches for the HWCVD System for three (3) years after delivery and acceptance.

10. Reliability Specifications and Definitions:

· Standard wafers – SEMI specification format in terms of geometry, with low to moderate wafer bow), within the contracted materials and thickness range, minimal backside patterning, and no through wafer vias.

· Fault: Something has gone wrong.

· Failure: Equipment has a problem, requires repair.

· Repair: Modification to hardware or software necessary for equipment to return to the standard operational specification as outlined in Section 2 and Section 3.

· High Failure: Failure compromising personnel safety, equipment damage or product damage.

· Low Failure: Failure not comprising personal safety, equipment damage or product damage.

· Assist: Unplanned interruption, recoverable by operator reset without requiring repair. Post reset there is no variation from specified process behavior.

· Uptime: Percentage of 12 hour shift time that the equipment is able to process as specified.

11. The Contractor shall ensure the HWCVD system meets the following Metrics:

· MTBHF (Mean Time Before High Failure)

· No significant process variation from predetermined process set, processing standard and wafers.

· Greater than 90 days (i.e. less than one (1) qualifying event per 90 days or 500 micrometers of silicon carbide deposition).

· MTBLF (Mean Time Before Low Failure)

· No significant process variation from predetermined process set, processing standard and wafers.

· Greater than 30 days (i.e. less than three (3) qualifying event per 90 days).

· MTBA (Mean Time Before Assist)

· Greater than five (5) days (i.e. less than 18 qualifying events per 90 days) not related to facility failures (i.e. power, gas, water or ventilation interruptions).

· MTTR (Mean Time to Repair)

· Time tool is not available for processing.

· Less than 72 hours. This does not include scheduled maintenance.

· Uptime

· Higher than 90% reactor availability

12. Pre-installation Acceptance Tests:

· The Contractor shall demonstrate to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) before shipment of the HWCVD system that the system is fully functional at the Contractor’s facility using the following Government created acceptance tests. The Contractor shall propose to the TPOC a date and time for acceptance test attendance at least one (1) month prior to proposed date. The TPOC will accept or deny the proposed date and time within three (3) days.

· The Contractor shall demonstrate that the HWCVD meets the required specifications as outlined above which includes wafer handling, thermal processing temperatures, ramp rates, temperature uniformity, gas line configuration, and computer control. The Contractor shall provide all required materials for HWCVD System demonstrations, unless otherwise noted.

13. The Contractor shall demonstrate that the HWCVD System is fully functional, which includes:

· Substrate handling and queuing

· Pump in load lock, transfer to chamber, return to load lock, vent

· Configured with all appropriate gas/input lines as detailed in C.1.5

· All gas flows are stable within 1% and are adjustable

· Leak rate of all lines and vacuum components below 5x10-9 Torrl/s

· Pressure control is stable to +/- two (2) Torr in the pressure range from fifty (50) to six-hundred (600) Torr

· Substrate heating and rotation (only inert gasses are used)

· Operating with a temperature range of at least room temperature to 1600°C at the substrate surface

· Demonstration that all alarm sensors are fully functional

14. Pre-installation Acceptance Tests Report

The Contractor shall submit a pre-installation acceptance tests report to the TPOC outlining the results of the acceptance tests within one (1) week of the acceptance testing at the Contractor’s site. The TPOC will review and approve the pre-installation acceptance tests report within one (1) week of receiving the pre-installation acceptance tests report. The Contractor shall ship the HWCVD System only after the TPOC has approved the pre-installation acceptance tests report.

15. Delivery and Installation

The Contractor shall deliver and install the HWCVD System at the ARL, 2800 Powder Mill Road, Building 207, Room (To Be Provided After Contract Award), within six (6) weeks of receiving approval of the pre-installation acceptance tests report from the TPOC. The Contractor shall propose a delivery date to the TPOC at least two (2) weeks prior to proposed date. The TPOC will approve or deny the proposed date and time within three (3) days. The TPOC will provide a leak detector with helium and suitable spray gun. The TPOC will support the installation and will provide qualified manpower that will be determined upon contract award.

16. Installation

· Installation of the HWCVD system by the Contractor does not include the following list. These items will be completed by qualified personal supplied by ARL

· Electrical connections to the HWCVD system or the RF generator

· Water connections (supply and return) to the HWCVD system

· Compressed air connections

· All-metal welded line connections to the HWCVD system, including hydrogen, argon, nitrogen, a carbon source (C3H8, C2H4 or CH4), and silane (5%)

· Trimethylaluminum bubblers connected to the source lines

· Ventilation connection to the HWCVD system

17. Post-installation Acceptance Tests- The Contractor shall demonstrate to the TPOC the installed HWCVD System in room Building 207, Room (To Be Provided After Contract Award) at ARL is fully functional using the following Government-created post-installation acceptance tests:

· The Contractor shall demonstrate to the TPOC post-installation acceptance testing procedure for the HWCVD System to include wafer handling, thermal processing temperatures, ramp rates, temperature uniformity, gas line configuration, pressure balancing, deposition and computer control. The TPOC will provide all precursor materials for HWCVD deposition demonstrations and substrates as GFM.

18. The Contractor shall demonstrate that the HWCVD System is fully functional, which includes:

· Substrate handling queuing, and processing for at least 5 wafers (100 millimeters (mm) in diameter)

· Pump in load lock, transfer to chamber, return to load lock, vent

· Configured with all appropriate gas/input lines as detailed in C.1.5

· All gas flows are stable within 1% and are adjustable

· Leak rate of all lines and vacuum components below 5x10-9 Torrl/s

· Pressure control is stable to +/- two (2) Torr in the pressure range from fifty (50) to six-hundred (600) Torr

· Substrate heating and rotation

· Operating with a temperature range of at least room temperature to 1700°C at the substrate surface

· Temperature is controlled within +/- 2K at process temperature (1600°C)

· Substrate rotation must be at a uniform rate

· Testing of all alarm sensors

· Deposition (all measurements include a 5 millimeter exclusion zone)

· Verify 4H-Silicon Carbide (SiC) deposition

· Substrate – 100mm Si-face epiready 4H-SiC

· Deposition with SiH4 and carbon (To be determined from C3H8, C2H4 or CH4) precursor

· Growth Rate - Five (5) or ten (10) micrometer/hour

· Film thickness – 20 micrometers (µm) +/- 10%

· Total epitaxial layer deposition count – three (3);

· one (1) intrinsically doped, Less than 5x1014 cm-3,

· one (1) nitrogen doped n-type, 1x1016 cm-3 +/- 10%,

· one (1) aluminum doped p-type, 5x1018 cm-3 +/- 10%,

· Cross-wafer thickness uniformity on 100mm substrate less than 2% as measured by FTIR or other agreed upon method

· Verify 3C-Silicon Carbide (SiC) deposition

· Substrate – Si

· Deposition with SiH4 and carbon (To be determined from C3H8, C2H4 or CH4) precursor

· Growth Rate - Less than five (5) micrometers/hour

· Film thickness – Five (5) micrometer (µm)

· Total epitaxial layer deposition count – up to three (3)

· Cross-wafer uniformity on 100mm substrate less than 2% s measured by FTIR or other agreed upon method

· Wafer-to-wafer uniformity on 100mm substrate less than 1% as s measured by FTIR or other agreed upon method

· Deposition uniformity

· Doping levels are measured by CV with a uniformity within the wafer σ ≤10%

· Wafer-to-wafer n-type doping uniformity ≤5% (minimum of 3 epitaxial layer depositions)

· Defect density ≤2/cm2 for feature size > 10µm

19. Post-installation Acceptance Tests Report

The Contractor shall submit a post-installation acceptance tests report to the TPOC outlining the results of the acceptance tests within one (1) week after the completion of the post-installation acceptance testing. The TPOC will approve the post-installation acceptance tests report within one (1) week of receipt.

20. Operator and Maintenance Training

The Contractor shall conduct operator and maintenance training following the installation of HWCVD System at ARL. For training purposes, the Contractor shall travel to ARL in Adelphi, MD to provide two (2) days, a total of sixteen (16) hours, of the operator and maintenance training for up to three (3) participants. The contractor shall ensure the training takes place within one (1) week after system post-installation acceptance approval. The Contractor shall propose to the TPOC a date and time for training. The TPOC will accept or deny the proposed date and time within two (2) days of receipt. The Contractor may provide the training during or immediately following the post-installation acceptance tests.

21. Troubleshooting and Warranty

· Troubleshooting The Contractor shall provide access to a technical support person to answer questions regarding tool operation, hardware troubleshooting and basic HWCVD System deposition processing via telephone or email during normal business hours 0900-1700 for the time zone of the Contractor’s main base of operation for the duration of ownership. The Contractor shall ensure the technical support person responds to voicemails and emails within two (2) business days.

· Warranty The Contractor shall provide a full warranty on the HWCVD System for two (2) years after approval of the post-installation test report. The Contractor shall ensure the warranty includes:

· Installation and replacement of all parts (excluding consumable parts and materials) at no cost

· All repairs or modifications if the HWCVD System is no longer functional according to the acceptance test specifications defined in section 12 at no cost. This does not include impurity and doping specifications potentially affected by experimental processes using source gasses beyond silane, trichlorsilane, hydrogen, argon, CH4, C2H4, C3H8, nitrogen, or trimethylaluminum.

· All labor and transportation costs to and from ARL for repairs and modification if the HWCVD System is no longer functional according to the acceptance test modifications defined in section 12.

· A response time of 48 hours from the time the Government calls or emails in a request for service to diagnose and propose a plan to repair the HWCVD System, and commence repair activities within 96 hours from the time of request

22. Deliverables

· Factory Acceptance Tests Report - The Contractor shall demonstrate to the TPOC at the Contractors site that the HWCVD is fully functional before it has been shipped from the Contractor’s facility using the following Government created acceptance tests within Eight (8) months of contract issue. The Contractor shall propose to the TPOC a date and time for acceptance test attendance at least one month prior to proposed date. The TPOC will accept or deny the proposed date and time within three (3) days. The TPOC will review and approve the Factory acceptance tests report within one (1) week of receiving the factory acceptance tests report. The Contractor shall ensure the test report shows the test results for all tests in section 12-13. The Contractor shall ensure the report is in electronic format.

· Post-installation Acceptance Tests Report - The Contractor shall provide the TPOC with a post-installation acceptance tests report after installation of the HWCVD System acceptance within one (1) week after installation. The Contractor shall ensure test report shows the test results for all required tests in section 17 and 18 . The Contractor shall ensure the report is in electronic format.

· HWCVD System – The Contractor shall deliver a fully functional HWCVD System that meets all the specifications to the ARL Adelphi, Maryland.

· HWCVD System Schematic Drawings/Operation Manual – The Contractor shall provide the TPOC upon delivery, with an electronic copy in Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the schematic drawings, including general assembly, vacuum, water, gas, alarm system, and electrical diagrams for the HWCVD System, service and maintenance instructions, along with an electronic copy of the Operation Manual for the HWCVD System and manuals for all subsystems written in English.

· Consumable Parts and Materials List – The Contractor shall provide the TPOC, upon delivery a comprehensive list of all consumable items needed to maintain the operation of a 24/7 fully functional HWCVD System, to include required quantity, part number, manufacturer, lead time and ordering information.

· The Contractor shall provide the TPOC upon delivery, with an electronic copy in Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the factory settings of all components.

CLIN 0002 Option- The Contractor shall provide One (1) Micro-channel Palladium Membrane Hydrogen Gas Purifier that meets the following specifications:

· SEAS PS7-PD1-30 or equivalent for 130 psig inlet pressure 70 psig outlet

· pressure 130 slpm maximum flow rate for hydrogen gas.

· High Temperature Hardware Interlock

· Resulting Hydrogen gas purity is 99.9999999%, with <1 ppb O2, H2O, CO, CO2, N2, CH4, NMHC, Inert gasses CLIN 0003 Option- The Contractor shall provide One (1) Spare Parts Kit that include the following:

· Extra set of quartz parts, including reactor tube

· Extra set of graphite susceptor parts

CLIN 0004 Option- The Contractor shall provide One (1) Uninterruptable Power Supply(UPS) that is compatible with HWCVD system. The UPS shall provide emergency power to the HWCVD system when the main power source fails for a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes.

Contracting Officer:

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