YES-LabCoat (R&D size)

Whether you need a moisture resistant barrier or a reactive surface for your application, the YES-LabCoat is especially suited for achieving uniform results. This compact, tabletop unit is ideal for Research & Development laboratories and pilot line production.

There is a growing need for precise control over nanoscale surface areas. The YES-LabCoat is designed to accommodate a variety of functionally diverse silanes for a variety of processes on a multitude of surfaces.  The system can accommodate the use of silanes ranging from non-reactive adhesion promoting coatings such as HMDS to alkyl silanes such as OTS to more reactive chemistries such as amines, acrylates or epoxies.  For anti-stiction applications, fluorinated silanes can be used.

The efficient use of chemical allows coatings using as little as 100ul of chemical.  At the same time, the 8x8x6 chamber can accommodate several hundred glass slides or oddly shaped substrates in a pre-production mode.  For higher volume production, a developed process can be directly transferred to the YES-ÉcoCoat system.

The linked recipes allow the user to easily go from hydration to deposition without breaking vacuum.  The linking also allows for sequential deposition, reacting one silane with another or passivating the chemistry at the end of the deposition with a reducing plasma to ensure a known surface.

Typical applications:

• MEMS packaging
• Semiconductor fabrication
• Microarrays
• DNA microarrays
• Protein microarrays
• BioMEMS
• Achieving biocompatibility

Vapor Phase Deposition Process

Dehydration followed by silane vapor deposition coating provides a superior silane/substrate bond that is stable after exposure to atmospheric moisture, extending the time available between process steps. The silane vapor deposition process begins with vacuum chamber cycle purges to prepare the substrates. The chamber is evacuated to low pressure and refilled with pure nitrogen several times to completely remove water vapor and oxygen. Nitrogen is preheated which helps heat slides and chips. Once cycle purges are finished the YES-LabKote system pumps the chemical directly from the source bottle to the heated vaporization chamber – without exposing the chemical to moisture or oxygen.

The Benefits of YES-LabCoat & Vapor Deposition:

• Efficient chemical usage
• Repeatability – Substrate to substrate, run to run
• Superior uniform coatings
• Minimal waste
• Vacuum dehydration
• Process flexibility
• Cost savings/Fast ROI
• Reliability
• Batch process

Summary

Successful surface modification requires stringent control of the interaction between the silane and substrates they contact. Using the YES-LabKote system you will achieve your specific results – with less chemical usage.