Care and Maintenance of an Industrial PVD Chamber
Cleaning the Chamber:
Remove any foil that becomes excessively dirty
from sputtering film, carbon tracking, oil residue, etc. Shields should be bead blasted with a grit material that is compatible with the sputtering environment material:
Silicon: use silicon carbide bead blast material only.
Aluminum: use glass bead blast material only.
Titanium: use silicon carbide bead blast followed by a final glass bead blast (preferred method).
About the Bead Blaster:
In the process of bead blasting chamber parts including brackets, shields, cathode frames, etc., it is important that the structure of the part is considered to prevent warping or damage to the part, including when selecting the appropriate regulation pressure of the bead blaster.
Cleaning the bead blast residue off the parts is done using a two step process:
1) Basic clean water wash.
2) Final clean with IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol). Do not use acetone to clean the inside of a vacuum system, as it is too aggressive a solvent and has the tendency to dissolve Viton® seals.
Note: the bead blaster itself should be cleaned before first usage, and periodically cleaned thereafter. It should also be locked after use to prevent any unauthorized usage. If for example a bead blaster was used for other reasons (e.g. bead blasting car parts), this would contaminate the bead blaster and produce a major source of contamination to a sputtering system process.
Inspection and Maintenance of Chamber Seals and Sealing Surfaces:
Inspect and wipe clean with IPA (not acetone) all o-ring seals, in place. Do not remove large chamber o-rings unless it is necessary. Some of these large chamber seals are very challenging to install and a gross leak path may be created during the removal and re-installation process. These seals are best treated as ‘sleeping dogs’ … let them be if possible!
However, if a seal is worn, cracked, unusually flat (has taken a "set" and is not recovering its shape), or otherwise damaged – remove the seal. As needed, clean the seal groove and polish the sealing surface to ensure it is clean and damage-free. Inspect the new seal for any damage, install the new seal, and do a final IPA wipe clean.
Track Your Chamber Vacuum Performance:
Develop and maintain a log of the system base vacuum level, and the time to achieve base vacuum. Take and store an RGA scan of your clean/dry chamber just after a maintenance cycle at good base vacuum level. In addition, develop and maintain RGA scans as your chamber is utilized up to the point where your process results indicate the need for maintenance. This will enable you to develop a data-driven maintenance schedule.
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