HF/Vapor Reactor Automation for the Study of Semiconductor Surfaces Genevieve Max Dr. Anthony Muscat Shariq Siddiqui The Arizona/NASA Space Grant Undergraduate Research Internship Program The University of Arizona April 19 2008

Semiconductors of Ge and III-V materials Where are these semiconductors used? Solid state devices for communications, computations and solar light applications These devices are made by layering semiconductor, metal and dielectric thin films It is important to characterize the chemistries at the interface of these layers We study this interface

Surface Chemistry Reactions Gases are used to deposit reactants on the semiconductor surface, then are pumped out Preserves conditions of the reacted surface In situ apparatus allows reactions to occur without air contamination Credits: Muscat group

Project Objectives We want to replace the hardware, and at the same time, we want to update the control program Update the control system for HF/Vapor reactor using the newer version of LabView New system will interact with DeviceNet hardware, a digital system replacing the analog system

Reasons for writing the new program Hardware in reactor is outdated and difficult to work with To upgrade the hardware to DeviceNet, need to write a new program that is compatible with this hardware Credits: Muscat Group

Why LabView? DeviceNet software provides an easy way for LabView to interact with the devices Front Panel allows easy manipulation of program at runtime Credits: Muscat Group

Front Panel Credits: Muscat Group

How the new program was developed Write code to control one device, then test its functionality Does the code do what we want? Integrate code from the existing HF reactor and the atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor ALD works with DeviceNet hardware, HF has functionality needed Document the code Add comments for future programmers

Results of updating hardware/software Reactor panel easier to work with Software can be modified to accept new hardware without major modification Program nearly ready to be tested on fully built reactor Credits: Muscat Group

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