APOLLO: High Throughput Wafer Coating System

Forge Nano’s APOLLO Wafer Coating System offers completely automatic cassette-to-cassette ALD processes with the lowest cost of ownership and a high throughput performance.

APOLLO is the best in each aspect of ALD productivity, costand performance, while setting a whole new standard for efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. Thanks to its 'zero-waste'processing, APOLLO reduces power consumption in factories and requires a smaller footprint on the clean-room floor.

Key Features

Compact footprint—1 m² per chamber

Ultrafast deposition of 120–300 Å/minute

Maintenance at 250 pm

Completely interlocked and fault-safe

Longer pump life and no waste

Uniformity within 1% between wafer and batches

Up to 90% utilization of precursor

Applications

Medical devices and sensors

Eliminate hermetic packaging

Optical Sensors

Envelope for environmental, corrosionand high voltage insulation

CoBs, PCBs, modulesand ICs

Electronic devices

Forge Nano delivers APOLLO across the world to facilitate a new generation of advanced technologies. APOLLO includes world-class maintenance and best-in-class service provided by Forge Nano’s dedicated team of U.S.-based scientists and engineers.

Basic Specifications and Configurations

Performance

APOLLO has achieved new levels of ALD productivity with the highest throughput manufacturing capability, excellent chemical utilizationand the least cost of ownership. The patented SMFD-ALD™ process from Forge Nano guarantees the quality of films and nanolaminates.

Capabilities

The APOLLO system enables affordable ALD of films such as Al₂O₃, HfO₂, ZnAlO, ZrO₂, ZnO, Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, SiO₂, Nb₃N₅, HfSiO, BN, <300°C TiN, GaNand many more. The process covers even difficult patterned wafers like advanced-generation DRAM device wafers with an increased area of more than 50 times.

Composite ternary and quaternary alloy films

Thick film deposition (>5 μm)

100% conformal films over any topology

Seamless incorporation of nanolaminates with reproducible atomic-layer control

Low-temperature processing (down to 80 °C)

The APOLLO system enables smooth and reproducible film engineering with nanolaminate and composite capabilities. Film adhesion more than 1000 PSI to several different substrates such as copper, tin, polyimides, gold, ceramics, FR4, adhesives, different solder mask materials, polyurethanesand many more.

Design

APOLLO features the millisecond response ALD manifold from Forge Nano that combines 10 of its patented Fast Pneumatic Valves (FPV) to provide more than 100 million trouble-free cycles of composite and nanolaminate ALD films. This ALD manifold is the only one with the ability to switch composition every cycle without any throughput penalty.

Valves from Forge Nano are field-proven since 2005, setting records for reliability, speed, safetyand service lifetime while functioning at higher temperatures of up to 220°C. The ALD valves from Forge Nano are the only doubly contained, spill-free UHP valves available in the market.

Configuration

The APOLLO system can house wafer sizes ranging from 75 to 300 mm, with cassette-to-cassette or single-wafer loader configurations.

Chemistry

Well-regulated, effective delivery of vapor from novel, proprietary sources facilitate rapid, low-cost deposition of films that require low-volatility precursors. More novel and proprietary on-demand sources are employed for safe regulation and delivery of otherwise over-reactive or short-lived reactants.