Guardian™ EIES Controller
Ideal for CIGS Thin Films
Guardian can control deposition rates from 0.1 to 10,000 Å/s. It operates one or two sensors, up to 8 optical inputs and controls up to 8 deposition sources, enabling codeposition of up to 8 materials.
INFICON Guardian is ideal for applications such as fabrication of photovoltaic modules, OLEDs, photovoltaics, superconducting thin films and MBE.
The Guardian Codeposition System is based on Electron Impact Emission Spectroscopy (EIES). Using EIES, the material being deposited is excited by a thermionic emitter, which results in creation of photons. The light created passes through an optical filter to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) detector, which measures the intensity of emission of the passed wavelength. The INFICON Guardian Controller then generates a signal to control the source for that material. Additional detectors, with appropriate optical filters, are used for multiple materials.
A complete Guardian system consists of at least one sensor, one PMT detector, an optical filter, a Guardian controller unit, and a PC (user-supplied) with Guardian software. EIES is generally used to control deposition of multiple materials, so most EIES systems include additional sensors, detectors, optical components such as beam splitters, and QCMs for calibration or controlling deposition rate for some materials. More information on typical systems can be found in the Guardian Configuration Guide in the Downloads tab below.
To Configure a Guardian Codeposition System, Consider the Following
- What are the primary and secondary emission wavelengths for your deposition materials?If different materials have peaks too close to each other, you may need to monitor a secondary wavelength, which has lower signal strength.
- During the deposition process, what background gases are present in your vacuum chamber and what are the emission wavelengths for those gases?If emissions from background gases interfere with the deposition materials, a gas compensating sensor is recommended.
EIES is most effective with the uniquely defined spectra of atomic species. Molecular species that generate unstable or broad emission spectra cannot be measured accurately. EIES is not recommended for organic materials. These, and other factors, determine the optimum EIES system configuration for each specific application.
FEATURES
- Monitor and control simultaneous deposition of up to 8 materials
- Deposition rates from 0.1 to 10,000 Å/s
- Integrated EIES and QCM thin film process control
- 12 relay outputs and 12 digital inputs
- Windows-based software for setup and operation
- Compatible with INFICON Sentinel® sensors
Specifications
| Operating pressure | <5×10-4 Torr |
| Temperature | 450° C maximum during operation and/or bakeout |
| Control outputs | Eight source control outputs, 0 to ±10 VDC programmable |
| Computer user-supplied: | Any PC with Windows® Vista/XP/2000/7/8/10 operating system, and Ethernet or RS-232 interface |
Accessories
| Part Number | Description |
| EIES Sensors | |
| 016-600-G22 | Guardian Standard Single Sensor and Feedthrough Assembly, 22 in. (539 mm), CF40 Flange |
| 016-601-G22 | Guardian Gas Compensating Sensor and Feedthrough Assembly, 22 in. (539 mm), CF40 Flange |
| Beam Splitters | Fiber Optic Beam Splitters split the beam of light from the sensor to allow measurement of multiple materials per EIES sensor. |
| 782-900-034 | Guardian Fiber Optic Beam Splitter (1:3) – 400 mm length |
| 782-900-034-x-yyy | Guardian Fiber Optic Beam Spliter (1:x) – yyy mm length |
| Filament Cables | Connects the EIES sensor to the Guardian controller |
| 600-1406-P10 | Guardian Single Filament cable, 10 ft. (3 m) – For standard EIES sensor |
| 600-1406-P40 | Guardian Single Filament cable, 40 ft. (12 m) – For standard EIES sensor |
| 600-1407-P10 | Guardian Dual Filament cable, 10 ft. (3m) – For gas compensating EIES sensor |
| 600-1407-P40 | Guardian Dual Filament cable, 40 ft. (12 m) – For gas compensating EIES sensor |
| PMT Detector | |
| 782-900-030 | Guardian PMT Detector |
| PMT Detector Cables | Connects the PMT Detector to the Guardian controller |
| 782-505-065 | Guardian Detector cable 10 ft. (3 m) |
| 782-505-065-40 | Guardian Detector cable, 40 ft. (12 m) |
| Optical Filters | Select the wavelength appropriate for your material |
| 782-900-035-202 | Optical filter – 202nm, BP10nm (Zn) |
| 782-900-035-241 | Optical Filter – 241nm, BP10nm (Co, Au) |
| 782-900-035-252 | Optical Filter – 252nm, BP10nm, (Si) |
| 782-900-035-265 | Optical Filter – 265nm, BP10nm, (Ge, Pt, Ta, Ir) |
| 782-900-035-267 | Optical Filter, 267 nm, Guardian |
| 782-900-035-294 | Optical Filter 294nm, BP2nm, (Hf) (Ga [when using a gas compensating sensor]) |
| 782-900-035-304 | Optical Filter 304nm, BP2nm (Ba, In [when using a gas compensation sensor]) |
| 782-900-035-325 | Optical Filter – 325nm, BP10nm (Cu, Cd) |
| 782-900-035-358 | Optical Filter – 358nm, BP10nm, (Nb, U, Cr) |
| 782-900-035-364 | Optical Filter – 364nm, BP10nm (Ti, Pb) |
| 782-900-035-396 | Optical Filter – 396nm, BP10nm, (Al) |
| 782-900-035-417 | Optical Filter – 417nm, BP2nm, (Ga) |
| 782-900-035-451 | Optical Filter – 451nm, BP5nm, (In) |
Spare parts
| Part Number | Description |
| 016-201-G1 | Emitter assembly for all 016-400-Gx sensors used in 016-600-Gxx and -601-Gxx |
| 782-900-038 | Guardian Photomultiplier Tube Replacement |
| 016-509-G22 | Guardian Sensor EIES In-vacuum Cable, 22 in. (559 mm), other lengths available |
| 782-530-015 | Guardian Sensor Filament Replacement (for discontinued 782-900-029 and -052 sensors) |