Operating Instructions for Quintel mask-aligner system
1.
Turn on the vacuum pump and then open the valve near the mask-aligner to allow
vacuum in the machine.
2.
Turn on the power supply to mask aligner by pressing POWER button.
3.
Press the VISUAL ALIGN button to lift the head of the aligner (also called Turret).
4.
Place the appropriate mask on the system and then press MASK-LOAD button so that
the mask is tightly secured. This is done by vacuum. With your hand apply gentle
pressure to confirm that the mask is fixed.
5.
Cover the mask with the rectangular piece with a hole in the middle. Press MASK
CLAMP button. Once again apply a gentle pressure to see if it is tightly secured over the
mask. It holds the mask using vacuum and prevents it from any movement.
6.
Press VISUAL ALIGN button to bring the turret down.
7.
To view the structures in the mask rotate the wheel in the turret to “ROW AND
COLUMN MICROSCOPE” position. On the back of the turret there is a knob which can be
used to focus the microscope on the mask.
8.
On the left side there is a mouse with a white button. By pressing the white button
while moving the mouse you can move the assembly that holds the mask. Therefore, by
moving the mouse in the X-Y plane you can see various parts of the mask.
9.
Pull out the wafer chuck by hand and place the sample in the middle of the chuck. Then
push the chuck back inside.
10. Press the button WAFER LOAD. It will lift the wafer to a point very close to the mask.
You will also notice that the SEP button located on the left is automatically lighted.
11. If you need to pull out the sample for any reason, press EJECT and pull out the chuck.
12. If alignment between the sample and the mask is need, follow the steps below. If no
alignment is needed go to step 13.
 In order to move the sample with respect to the mask, use the mouse at the right which
also has a white button. For coarse movement, hold the white button down and then
move the mouse. For fine movement, just move the mouse in the X-Y direction.
 To rotate the sample with respect to the mask, use the rotation knob located on the left
side of the chuck.
 In case these operations don’t work (i. e. the patterns on the mask and the sample are
far apart), press EJECT to lower the sample. Pull out the sample and do some
adjustment of the sample by hand so that the two patterns are close.
13. Switch on the power to UV lamp. The power-supply is located below the table on the
left side.
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20.
After a minute press the white button located on the power-supply for the UV lamp.
This would turn on the UV lamp.
Wait for 3 minutes and you would see some UV light on the left side of the machine.
Once you see some UV light press the button CONT located on the left side of the
aligner. This brings the sample in contact with the mask and makes the machine ready
for exposure.
Bring the turret to EXPOSE position.
Press the button MANUAL EXPOSE to expose the sample. Make sure you have
protective goggles on. This button is on the left side. Once exposure is completed, the
chuck holding the sample automatically comes down.
Using your hand pull out the tray with your sample and remove the sample.
Immediately turn off the power to UV light. If you have another sample, repeat the
steps 9 to 19.
Shut-down Procedure
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26.
After the exposure is completed, switch off the power to UV lamp.
Push the VISUAL ALIGN button (on the right) to lift the turret.
Press MASK LOAD and MASK CLAMP to release the mask and the mask holder
respectively. Remove the mask.
Bring the turret down by pressing VISUAL ALIGN button.
Switch off the power to the mask-aligner by pushing POWER button.
Close the vacuum valve. Disconnect the power-supply to the vacuum pump.