[labnetwork] Thermal Evap Opinions

[Kevin McPeak]

Dear labnetwork subscribers,

I am new to the list and am looking for some advice on thermal
evaporators. I am a new postdoc at ETH-Zurich and one of my first jobs
is to select a thermal evaporator. The thermal evap will be used to
deposit Ag, Au, Cu and Al films on Si wafers. Furthermore we want
stage rotation and stage heating (150 C). So far the leading
contenders (based on provided quotes) are Lesker's Nano 36 and the
Minilab system from Moorfield (www.moorfield.co.uk). One of the
biggest concerns I have with the Lesker system is that the current
system comes with a 700 L/s diffusion pump. We can upgrade to a turbo
but that would make the product less price competitive with the
Minilab. Both products are in the high 50K range. The minilab comes
with a 70 L/s Turbo pump.

Does anyone on the list have any experience (good or bad) with either
of these products? Also and advice on the diffusion vs turbo pump
issue is greatly appreciated. I myself come from a solution deposition
background so I am just coming up to speed on vacuum processing
equipment. What I have been told is that diffusion pumps suck a lot of
power and can have catastrophic oil issues if proper safety
precautions aren't taken.

Any advice is most appreciated.

Regards,
Kevin McPeak

-- 
Kevin McPeak Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
ETH Zürich
Optical Materials Engineering Laboratory
Universitaetsstrasse 6, CNB F121
CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Voice: +41 44 632 6594
Email: kmcpeak at ethz.ch