Inert atmosphere Cluster Tool
Glovebox transfer and Characterization
Description of Instrument:
The 2DCC Inert Atmosphere Cluster Tool enables the fabrication and characterization of air-sensitive van der Waals heterostructures and devices. It consists of three major pieces of instrumentation housed in two conjoined, argon gas-filled gloveboxes. The tool features a state-of-the-art transfer stage from HQ Graphene, an atomic force microscope from Asylum Research (MFP-3D Origin+) and a customized two-glovebox system from M. Braun, Inc, with integrated physical vapor deposition capabilities from Island e-Beam.
Capabilities:
The two-box cluster: (GboxClust)
Process air-sensitive van der Waals materials and thin films inside the glovebox
- Custom stands and mechanical connections to minimize vibration
- Filled with argon gas with oxygen < 0.1 PPM, water < 0.1 PPM
- Sample transfer through a vacuum suitcase
- Exfoliation area
- Hot plate
2D transfer stage (GBox-TRS):
Instrument DOI: 10.60551/phgm-7k20
Precise transfer stacking of air-sensitive van der Waals heterostructures
- Fully motorized, compute-controlled transfer
- 9 Degrees of Freedom: sample stage x/y/z/rotate, mask x/y/rotate/tilt, focus
- Precise translational motion control < 1”m
- Rotational motion with 0.01° precision
- 6 Objectives with darkfield mode: 2X, 10X, 20X, 40X, 50X, 100X (3mm working distance)
- PID-controlled heating and cooling of the sample stage, with a maximum stage temperature of 200â
Atomic Force Microscopy (GBox-AFM2):
Instrument DOI: 10.60551/sw5j-1397
AFM characterization of air-sensitive van der Waals materials and thin films
- Accommodate large samples, up to 80mm diameter and up to 10mm thick
- Modes: topography, KPFM, EFM, conductive AFM
- Noise level < 0.2 nm
Built-in E-beam Evaporator (GBox-EVA):
Instrument DOI: 10.60551/j9yc-kd88
In-situ physical vapor deposition of contacts for air-sensitive samples, and lithography-free device fabrication with stencil mask
- Vacuum: as low as 5E-7 mbar (4E-7 Torr, 5E-5 Pa)
- Up to 4 crucibles
- Source materials: metals (Au, Ti, Cr, Al) and oxides (Al2O3)
Publications: None
Technical Contacts:
Jun Zhu | Yangyang Chen | Carlton Drew |
Professor- Physics | Postdoctoral Scholar | Graduate Student |
Email Address: jxz26@psu.edu | yuc552@psu.edu | cvd5506@psu.edu |