Cluster Integration
Angstrom Engineering® has developed a cluster-specific sequencing algorithm within Aeres® control software to efficiently operate multi-module systems that can include cleaning stations, substrate and mask load locks, and multiple deposition chambers, also known as process modules.
Nebula uses a simple architecture wherein sequences are created by assigning substrate(s), mask(s), and deposition/cleaning process(es) to a particular cluster module; these sequences are then placed into a global queue to be processed in the order in which they were assigned by the user, typically utilizing recipes. Nebula provides powerful scheduling capability in a very simple-to-use platform.
Substrates and masks are first loaded into the appropriate module and given unique identifiers from the Aeres® software platform. Once loaded substrates and masks have been defined within the software, the user has complete control over the sequences that follow and can build them as simple or complex as desired.
Dr. Stephen Forrest
University of Michigan
From the time it was delivered, this laboratory system has performed nearly flawlessly, arguably extending our capabilities well beyond those currently attainable by any organic thin film laboratory in the world. I attribute the success of this entire system to the excellence of the engineering as well as the cooperative nature of the Angstrom team in taking our best designs and making them better during the system construction process.