Experts in Substrate Heating

Heater Stages

At Thermic Edge, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the vacuum furnace industry. Providing a complete service, our bespoke versatile ranges gives you the tools necessary for any application.

Heater Stages Overview

At Thermic Edge, we offer a complete range of hot stage sample heaters for all deposition systems and applications. Heaters and samples can be mounted in any orientation and our range of manipulators provides cost effective options for sample rotation, heater rotation, sample transfer and sample / heater positioning. 

Every stage comes with the necessary power, thermocouple and water feedthroughs required so all you need to do is connect the services and it is ready to use. Heater controllers and power supplies are also available from Thermic Edge.

The Thermic Edge design team work closely with clients to provide:

  • Professionally managed projects from start to finish
  • Cost effective solutions using standard Thermic Edge components and assemblies where possible
  • Detailed technical drawings and written specifications
  • 3D CAD models
  • A heating solution that is supplied fully tested and ready to integrate with your system
  • Manual detailing installation and operation instructions

Standard Heater Stages

ENVIRONMENT

Standard heaters and stages have been developed for use in vacuum, air (or O2 rich environments) and ultra-high vacuum (UHV).

Viton® sealed rotary feedthroughs for high vacuum applications permit high torque applications. Magnetic and ferrofluidic rotary feedthroughs can be used to provide true UHV systems.

Thermic Edge substrate heaters and stages can be altered to operate in corrosive atmospheres. For example our all-graphite heater head stages supplied for the production of solar cells work in an aggressive copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) atmosphere for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

HEATER HEAD

Any of our heaters can be mounted to our stages. The versatile heater range covers wafer sizes from Ø50mm [Ø2”] to Ø152mm [Ø6”] and temperatures up to 1600°C [2912°F].

Our button heaters have been developed for Ø25mm [Ø1”] samples and the SiC3 coated graphite range has been expanded to include Ø200mm (Ø8”) wafers.

Our square and rectangular heaters can also be mounted to stages.

ORIENTATION

Stages can be mounted into the chamber in any orientation. Usually, they are mounted into the top of the chamber (so that the heater is facing downwards) or into the bottom of the chamber (so that the heater is facing upwards).

This makes features such as rotation and sample transfer more straight forward. Sometimes the only available port is in the side of the chamber, and in this instance, we can provide solutions such as the assembly shown on the right.

Typically, the heater head is smaller than the bore of the available port diameter, however it is possible to mount the stage to the chamber and the attach the heater through a larger port or door.

Z-SHIFT

Our Standard Linear Manipulator is fabricated from a pair of Conflat flanges, connected by edge welded bellows.

Aluminium yolks offer strength and stability whilst keeping the assembly lightweight.
It’s design, unlike many others, includes two guide bars which straddle the bellows assembly. This reduces the bending motion on the travelling flange yolk and alleviates the twisting stress on the lead screw when load is applied, allowing for the travelling flange to move towards the fixed flange in a controlled, precise motion as well as maintaining parallelism between the two flanges and minimal wear on the lead screw.
All manual Standard, our Standard Linear Manipulator is fabricated from a pair of Conflat flanges, connected by edge welded bellows. Aluminium yolks offer strength and stability whilst keeping the assembly lightweight. It’s design, unlike many others, includes two guide bars which straddle the bellows assembly. This reduces the bending motion on the travelling flange yolk and alleviates the twisting stress on the lead screw when load is applied, allowing for the travelling flange to move towards the fixed flange in a controlled, precise motion as well as maintaining parallelism between the two flanges and minimal wear on the lead screw.

All manual Standard Linear Manipulators are installed with a metric/imperial digital linear scale with 100 µm resolution. The design includes mounts for either digital encoders or limit switches which can be added upon request.

The use of high-quality stainless-steel linear bearings (low friction coefficients) and Igus® guides ensure the smoothest operation coupled with a longer life span.

Where standard Z-shifts cannot be used, Thermic Edge can build the Z-shift odd the stage flange, as shown to the right. This design includes three guide bars, which make it self-supportive and therefore do not rely on the lead screw for rigidity (anti-deflection/rotation).

This large travelling platform design can accommodate a single bellows size up to ø93.0mm (internal, through bore) or multiple DN16-35/40CF bellows (3x max) for varying feedthroughs.

Linear manipulators of this style can be fitted with varying positional encoders and scales upon request. They can be configured with mounting flanges ranging from DN2022-350CF (Conflat) or ISO200-400K/F (ISO clamped/bolted) and standard strokes of either 50,100 or 250mm.

Upon request, our in-house design and engineering team can accommodate larger flange sizes and/or increased stroke lengths (up to 1000mm) as well as top flange X-alignment and tilting configurations, to suit your individual requirements.Linear Manipulators are installed with a metric/imperial digital linear scale with 100 µm resolution. The design includes mounts for either digital encoders or limit switches which can be added upon request.
The use of high-quality stainless-steel linear bearings (low friction coefficients) and Igus® guides ensure the smoothest operation coupled with a longer life span.
Where standard Z-shifts cannot be used, Thermic Edge can build the Z-shift odd the stage flange, as shown to the right. This design includes three guide bars, which make it self-supportive and therefore do not rely on the lead screw for rigidity (anti-deflection/rotation).
This large travelling platform design can accommodate a single bellows size up to ø93.0mm (internal, through bore) or multiple DN16-35/40CF bellows (3x max) for varying feedthroughs.
Linear manipulators of this style can be fitted with varying positional encoders and scales upon request. They can be configured with mounting flanges ranging from DN2022-350CF (Conflat) or ISO200-400K/F (ISO clamped/bolted) and standard strokes of either 50,100 or 250mm.
Upon request, our in-house design and engineering team can accommodate larger flange sizes and/or increased stroke lengths (up to 1000mm) as well as top flange X-alignment and tilting configurations, to suit your individual requirements.

ROTATION

At Thermic Edge, we offer solutions for heater head and sample rotation. This can be motor (stepper or inverter) or manual (handwheel) driven.

Heater head rotation around the central axis is available to evenly apply heat to a surface. By fixing an arm to the central shaft, it is possible to position the heated sample over multiple deposition sources without needing to bring the system up to atmosphere.

The heated stage between different by cradle or central shaft rotation. We will happily incorporate our customers’ motors and preferred temperature controllers if required. The stage can be run manually, or it can easily be integrated into the systems’ PLC control.

Features:

  • Standard linear shifts with travel up to 250 mm (10”)
  • Manual (handwheel) or motor driven
  • Sample rotation through central shaft or outer cradle
  • Cost-effective Viton® sealed rotary feedthroughs for high vacuum applications
  • Magnetic and ferrofluidic rotary feedthroughs for UHV systems
  • Rotary joints for water / gas cooled heaters with rotating heater head
  • Sample transfer solutions using high precision positioning motors
  • Fully customisable with complete bespoke solutions available

Our Rotary / Linear feedthroughs comprise a central shaft sealed with Viton® seals, supported with Igus® bearings and encompassed in a robust stainless-steel flanged housing.

The profile of the Viton seals ensures a secure vacuum for both rotary and linear movement is formed with minimal compression, making them both highly versatile and reliable.

All feedthroughs can be configured with the following.

  • handles/knobs for manual manipulation
  • pneumatic rotary actuator for rotation
  • (Stepper / Servo) Motor for rotation
  • Pneumatic, motorised or solenoid actuators for linear manipulation

UHV – Magnetic

HV – fluorocarbon Viton® sealed rotary feedthroughs for high vacuum applications permit high torque applications.

Ferrofluidic?

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