TcSUH laboratories in the Science and Research One Building (S&R 1) include a state-of-the-art cleanroom complex. Two Riber ModuTrac molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) deposition systems and a chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) system are situated in a class 10,000 cleanroom. The MBE systems are dedicated to III-arsenide and III-antimonide material systems. The CBE system is set up for III-arsenides, III-phosphides and dilute nitrides. The two systems are connected by transfer chambers (ModuTrac) to a class 100 cleanroom. Samples are mounted and loaded in the class 100 environment and then transferred under vacuum to the deposition chambers.

(A. Freundlich, alexf@uh.edu)

Two other MBE systems are dedicated to III-nitride deposition. The first one is a Plasma Assisted MBE system focused on growth of GaN structures and devices. The second is a research reactor capable of growing layers with both solid and chemical sources and is fitted with a unique time of flight ion scattering monitoring technique that allows real time determination of the composition and structure of the thin films.

(A. Bensaoula, Bens@uh.edu)

A class 1,000 cleanroom used for sample preparation is located adjacent to the class 10,000, with direct access to the class 100 sample loading area. The class 1,000 cleanroom includes 2 thermal evaporators dedicated to metal deposition, 2 barrel etchers/ashers, profilometer and wire bonding capabilities. The class 100 cleanroom supports final sample processing with a spinner and 2 mask aligners. TcSUH S&R 1 laboratories also include 2 e-beam deposition systems, an ion mill, 2 Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) systems and a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) system.

TcSUH activities in S&R 1 are supported by a variety of in-house analysis tools focusing on both the thin film material products and the devices fabricated from the those structures. Characterization tools include Hall mobility, I-V and C-V, FTIR, Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS), 3 Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy systems covering the range of UV to the mid-IR and temperature from 2°K to 300°K. Laboratories include a spectral response and solar simulator (100K to 400K temperature range) to characterize solar cells, a high resolution x-ray diffractometer with wafer mapping capabilities for physical characterization of the thin film structures, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) capabilities.

Links:

- Find out about our other facilities