OPERATION AND SERVICE MANUALMODEL MDC-370
MAXTEK AVERAGING DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

P/N 600800
S/N _____________MAXTEK, INC.

http://www.maxtekinc.com
11980 Telegraph Road, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
Tel: (562) 906-1515 • Fax: (562) 906-1622
Email: sales@maxtekinc.com • support@maxtekinc.com

© 2000 MAXTEK, INC. All rights reserved.
First Edition, March 2000
Second Edition February 2001

ii

WARRANTY
Maxtek, Inc. warrants the product to be free of functional defects in material andworkmanship and that it will perform in accordance with its publishedspecification for a period of (twenty-four) 24 months.
The foregoing warranty is subject to the condition that the product be properly
operated in accordance with instructions provided by Maxtek, Inc. or has not been
subjected to improper installation or abuse, misuse, negligence, accident,
corrosion, or damage during shipment.
Purchaser's sole and exclusive remedy under the above warranty is limited to, at
Maxtek's option, repair or replacement of defective equipment or return topurchaser of the original purchase price. Transportation charges must be prepaid
and upon examination by Maxtek the equipment must be found not to comply
with the above warranty. In the event that Maxtek elects to refund the purchaseprice, the equipment shall be the property of Maxtek.
This warranty is in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied andconstitutes fulfillment of all of Maxtek's liabilities to the purchaser. Maxtek does
not warrant that the product can be used for any particular purpose other than thatcovered by the applicable specifications. Maxtek assumes no liability in any
event, for consequential damages, for anticipated or lost profits, incidental
damage of loss of time or other losses incurred by the purchaser or third party inconnection with products covered by this warranty or otherwise.
DISCLOSURE
The disclosure of this information is to assist owners of Maxtek equipment toproperly operate and maintain their equipment, and does not constitute the releaseof rights thereof. Reproduction of this information and equipment describedherein is prohibited without prior written consent from Maxtek, Inc., 11980
Telegraph Road, Suite 104, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670.
SAFETYAll standard safety procedures associated with the safe handling ofelectrical equipment must be observed. Always disconnect power whenworking inside the controller. Only properly trained personnel shouldattempt to service the instrument.

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Table of Contents
1.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................. 1-1

1.1
PURPOSE ....................................................................................................................... 1-1
1.2
FEATURES .................................................................................................................... 1-1
1.2.1
MULTI-CRYSTAL AVERAGING ............................................................................... 1-1
1.2.2
EXTENSIVE PROGRAM STORAGE ......................................................................... 1-1
1.2.3
DYNAMIC MEASUREMENT UPDATE RATE .......................................................... 1-1
1.2.4
SUPERIOR GRAPHICS DISPLAY ............................................................................ 1-1
1.2.5
PROGRAM SECURITY .............................................................................................. 1-1
1.2.6
DESIGNED FOR UNATTENDED OPERATION ...................................................... 1-1
1.2.7
FAIL SAFE ABORTS.................................................................................................. 1-2
1.2.8
ABORT STATUS RETENTION .................................................................................. 1-2
1.2.9
RUN COMPLETION ON CRYSTAL FAILURE ......................................................... 1-2
1.2.10POWERFUL SYSTEM INTERFACE ..................................................................... 1-2
1.2.11POWER SUPPLY NOISE TOLERANCE ............................................................... 1-2
1.2.12
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD POWER CONNECTOR ..................................... 1-2
1.2.13
FIELD UPGRADABLE ......................................................................................... 1-2
1.3
SPECIFICATIONS ......................................................................................................... 1-3
1.3.1
MEASUREMENT ....................................................................................................... 1-3
1.3.2
DISPLAY .................................................................................................................... 1-3
1.3.3
COMMUNICATION................................................................................................... 1-3
1.3.4
PROGRAM STORAGE CAPACITY ........................................................................... 1-3
1.3.5
PROCESS PARAMETERS ......................................................................................... 1-3
1.3.6
MATERIAL PARAMETERS ....................................................................................... 1-4
1.3.7
INPUT/OUTPUT CAPABILITY ................................................................................. 1-5
1.3.8
SENSOR PARAMETERS ............................................................................................ 1-5
1.3.9
SOURCE PARAMETERS ........................................................................................... 1-6
1.3.10RECORDER PARAMETERS ................................................................................. 1-6
1.3.11UTILITY SETUP PARAMETER ............................................................................ 1-6
1.3.12OTHER .................................................................................................................. 1-6
1.4
ACCESSORIES .............................................................................................................. 1-7
2.

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS ........................................................... 2-1

2.1
OPERATING DISPLAYS .............................................................................................. 2-1
2.1.1
RATE .......................................................................................................................... 2-1
2.1.2
POWER ...................................................................................................................... 2-1
2.1.3
THICKNESS ............................................................................................................... 2-1
2.1.4
LAYER NUMBER ....................................................................................................... 2-1
2.1.5
CRYSTAL HEALTH % ............................................................................................... 2-2
2.1.6
TIME DISPLAY .......................................................................................................... 2-2
2.2
PARAMETER/STATUS DISPLAYS ............................................................................ 2-2
2.3
OPERATING CONTROLS ............................................................................................ 2-2
2.3.1
MANUAL KEY ........................................................................................................... 2-2
2.3.2
START KEY ................................................................................................................ 2-3
2.3.3
ABORT KEY ............................................................................................................... 2-3
2.3.4
RESET KEY ................................................................................................................ 2-3
2.3.5
ZERO KEY ................................................................................................................. 2-3
2.3.6
SHUTTER KEY .......................................................................................................... 2-3
2.3.7
STATUS KEY .............................................................................................................. 2-3
2.3.8
GRAPH KEY .............................................................................................................. 2-4
2.3.9
ARROW KEYS ............................................................................................................ 2-4
2.3.10PROGRAM KEY .................................................................................................... 2-4
2.3.11
ALPHANUMERIC KEYBOARD............................................................................ 2-5
3.

iv

BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION ......................................................................... 3-1

3.1
INSPECTION ..................................................................................................................3-1
3.2
INITIAL POWER UP ......................................................................................................3-1
3.3
SAMPLE PROGRAM .....................................................................................................3-1
3.3.1
MATERIAL #1 PARAMETERS ...................................................................................3-2
3.3.2
MATERIAL #2 PARAMETERS ...................................................................................3-3
3.3.3
PROCESS PARAMETERS ..........................................................................................3-4
3.4
SIMULATE OPERATION ..............................................................................................3-4
3.5
MANUAL OPERATION ................................................................................................3-4
3.6
INSTALLING OPTION BOARDS .................................................................................3-4
3.6.1
SOURCE-SENSOR BOARD .......................................................................................3-5
3.6.2
DISCRETE I/O BOARD ..............................................................................................3-5
3.6.3
IEEE-488 OPTION BOARD .......................................................................................3-5
3.7
DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC) CHECKOUT.......................................3-5
4.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP .........................................................4-1

4.1
GENERAL.......................................................................................................................4-1
4.1.1
NAVIGATING THE MENU STRUCTURE .................................................................4-1
4.1.2
ENTERING ALPHA CHARACTERS...........................................................................4-2
4.1.3
ENTERING TIME PARAMETERS..............................................................................4-2
4.1.4
COPYING AND DELETING ......................................................................................4-2
4.1.5
PASSWORD PROTECTION .......................................................................................4-2
4.1.5.1
4.1.5.2
4.1.5.3

VIEW/RUN PROCESS PASSWORD ........................................................................... 4-3
EDIT PROCESS PASSWORD ...................................................................................... 4-3
EDIT MATERIAL PASSWORD ................................................................................... 4-3

4.1.6
ADJUSTING PARAMETER/STATUS DISPLAY CONTRAST ....................................4-3
4.2
GETTING STARTED .....................................................................................................4-3
4.2.1
UTILITY SETUP .........................................................................................................4-4
4.2.2
DAC SETUP ...............................................................................................................4-4
4.2.3
SOURCE SETUP ........................................................................................................4-4
4.2.4
SENSOR SETUP .........................................................................................................4-7
4.2.4.1

4.2.5
4.2.6
4.2.7

EXAMPLE USING MAXTEK’S RSH-600 SIX CRYSTAL SENSOR HEAD ............ 4-9

INPUT, OUTPUT AND ACTION SETUP ..................................................................4-9
DISPLAY SETUP ......................................................................................................4-10
MATERIAL SETUP ...................................................................................................4-11

4.2.7.1
4.2.7.2
4.2.7.3
4.2.7.4
4.2.7.5
4.2.7.6

POWER RAMPS.......................................................................................................... 4-11
AUTOMATIC CRYSTAL SWITCHING .................................................................... 4-12
RATE ESTABLISH ..................................................................................................... 4-12
RATE RAMPS ............................................................................................................. 4-12
RATE SAMPLE MODE .............................................................................................. 4-13
RATE DEVIATION ALARM...................................................................................... 4-13

4.2.8
PROCESS SETUP .....................................................................................................4-13
4.2.9
STARTING A NEW PROCESS ..................................................................................4-13
4.2.10
RESUMING A PROCESS FROM ABORT OR HALT ..........................................4-13
4.3
DETAILED PROGRAMMING ....................................................................................4-14
4.3.1
VIEW/EDIT PROCESS .............................................................................................4-14
4.3.1.1

4.3.2

4.3.2.1

4.3.3

DEFINE A PROCESS .................................................................................................. 4-14

VIEW/EDIT MATERIAL ...........................................................................................4-16
DEFINE A MATERIAL............................................................................................... 4-16

SYSTEM SETUP .......................................................................................................4-24

4.3.3.1
4.3.3.2
4.3.3.3
4.3.3.4
4.3.3.5
4.3.3.6
4.3.3.7
4.3.3.8

EDIT DISPLAY SETUP .............................................................................................. 4-24
PROGRAM INPUTS ................................................................................................... 4-26
PROGRAM OUTPUTS................................................................................................ 4-27
PROGRAM ACTIONS ................................................................................................ 4-33
EDIT SENSOR SETUP ................................................................................................ 4-35
EDIT SOURCE SETUP ............................................................................................... 4-38
EDIT DAC SETUP ...................................................................................................... 4-41
EDIT UTILITY SETUP ............................................................................................... 4-42

5.

OPERATING THE MDC-370 ...........................................................................................5-1

5.1

SIGN-ON SCREEN .........................................................................................................5-1v

5.2
STARTING A NEW PROCESS ..................................................................................... 5-1
5.3
STARTING A NEW LAYER ......................................................................................... 5-2
5.4
RESUMING AN ABORTED OR HALTED PROCESS ................................................. 5-2
5.5
GRAPH DISPLAYS ........................................................................................................ 5-3
5.6
STATUS DISPLAYS ...................................................................................................... 5-4
5.7
VIEWING RESULTS ..................................................................................................... 5-5
5.8
MODES .......................................................................................................................... 5-7
5.8.1
PROCESS READY...................................................................................................... 5-7
5.8.2
ABORT ....................................................................................................................... 5-7
5.8.3
HALT (SOFT ABORT) ............................................................................................... 5-8
5.8.4
IN PROCESS .............................................................................................................. 5-8
5.8.5
NOT SAMPLING ........................................................................................................ 5-8
5.8.6
PROCESS COMPLETE ............................................................................................. 5-8
5.8.7
MANUAL .................................................................................................................... 5-8
5.8.8
SIMULATE ................................................................................................................. 5-8
5.9
STATES .......................................................................................................................... 5-8
5.10
TROUBLE, ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES .................................................... 5-8
5.10.1DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................... 5-9
5.10.1.1
5.10.1.2
5.10.1.3
5.10.1.4
5.10.1.5
5.10.1.6
5.10.1.7
5.10.1.8
5.10.1.9
5.10.1.10
5.10.1.11
5.10.1.12
5.10.1.13
5.10.1.14
5.10.1.15
5.10.1.16
5.10.1.17
5.10.1.18
5.10.1.19
5.10.1.20
5.10.1.21
5.10.1.22
5.10.1.23
5.10.1.24
5.10.1.25
5.10.1.26
5.10.1.27

vi

MIN RATE&MAX POWER........................................................................................ 5-10
MAX RATE&MIN POWER........................................................................................ 5-10
SYSTEM SETUP MEMORY CORRUPTED .............................................................. 5-10
PROCESS MEMORY CORRUPTED ......................................................................... 5-10
MATERIAL MEMORY CORRUPTED ...................................................................... 5-10
RATE EST. ERROR .................................................................................................... 5-10
CRYSTAL FAILURE .................................................................................................. 5-10
SOURCE FAULT ........................................................................................................ 5-10
SENSOR FAULT ......................................................................................................... 5-11
NO SENSORS ENABLED .......................................................................................... 5-11
TIME POWER ............................................................................................................. 5-11
RATE DEV. ALARM .................................................................................................. 5-11
ALARM ACTION ....................................................................................................... 5-11
CRYSTAL MARGINAL ............................................................................................. 5-11
RATE DEV. ALERT ................................................................................................... 5-11
MAX POWER ALERT ................................................................................................ 5-11
MIN POWER ALERT ................................................................................................. 5-11
ALERT ACTION ......................................................................................................... 5-11
XTAL FAIL SWITCH ................................................................................................. 5-12
XTAL MRGN SWITCH .............................................................................................. 5-12
RATE DEV. ATTEN ................................................................................................... 5-12
MAXIMUM POWER .................................................................................................. 5-12
MINIMUM POWER .................................................................................................... 5-12
CHANGE POCKET... .................................................................................................. 5-12
CHANGE CRYSTAL... ............................................................................................... 5-12
ATTENTION ACTION ............................................................................................... 5-12
CALIBRATION DONE ............................................................................................... 5-12

6.

TUNING THE MDC-370 CONTROL LOOP ................................................................. 6-1

6.1
6.2
6.3

CONTROL LOOP BASICS ................................................................................................... 6-1
CONTROL LOOPS APPLIED TO VACUUM DEPOSITION....................................................... 6-2
ESTABLISHING MDC-370 CONTROL LOOP PARAMETERS ................................................ 6-3

7.

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS........................................................................ 7-1

7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6

SOURCE CONTROL VOLTAGE OUTPUT ................................................................. 7-1
SENSOR INPUT ............................................................................................................. 7-1
DISCRETE OUTPUTS ................................................................................................... 7-1
DISCRETE INPUTS ....................................................................................................... 7-2
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER OUTPUTS .................................................... 7-2
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER CONTROL INPUTS ..................................... 7-2

8.

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION.................................................................................. 8-1

8.1
MOUNTING ...................................................................................................................8-1
8.2
PROPER GROUNDING .................................................................................................8-1
8.3
EXTERNAL CONNECTIONS .......................................................................................8-1
8.3.1
POWER .......................................................................................................................8-1
8.3.2
VOLTAGE SELECTION .............................................................................................8-1
8.3.3
GROUND LUG ...........................................................................................................8-2
8.3.4
REMOTE POWER HANDSET ....................................................................................8-2
8.3.5
SOURCE-SENSOR .....................................................................................................8-2
8.3.6
RS-232 COMMUNICATION.......................................................................................8-2
8.3.7
DISCRETE INPUT/OUTPUT .....................................................................................8-3
8.3.8
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC) ...........................................................8-3
9.

SYSTEM INSTALLATION ..............................................................................................9-1

9.1
SENSOR HEAD DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................9-1
9.2
SENSOR HEAD INSTALLATION ................................................................................9-1
9.3
SENSOR OSCILLATOR ................................................................................................9-2
9.3.1
INSTALLATION ..........................................................................................................9-3
9.4
INSTRUMENTATION FEEDTHROUGH .....................................................................9-3
9.5
SENSOR CRYSTAL REPLACEMENT .........................................................................9-3
9.6
TYPICAL SYSTEM INSTALLATION ..........................................................................9-4
10.

THEORY OF OPERATION ......................................................................................10-1

10.1
BASIC MEASUREMENT ............................................................................................10-1
10.2
FILM THICKNESS CALCULATION ..........................................................................10-1
10.3
CRYSTAL HEALTH CALCULATION .......................................................................10-3
10.4
RATE CALCULATION ................................................................................................10-4
10.5
MULTI-SENSOR AVERAGING ...........................................................................................10-4
10.6
EMPIRICAL CALIBRATION ......................................................................................10-5
10.6.1
FILM DENSITY ....................................................................................................10-5
10.6.2TOOLING FACTOR .............................................................................................10-6
10.6.3
ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE ...................................................................................10-6
11.

COMPUTER INTERFACE........................................................................................11-1

11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9

GENERAL.....................................................................................................................11-1
RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE ......................................................................................11-1
RS-485 SERIAL INTERFACE ......................................................................................11-1
IEEE-488 PARALLEL INTERFACE............................................................................11-2
PROTOCOL ..................................................................................................................11-2
DATA TYPES ...............................................................................................................11-3
MESSAGE RECEIVED STATUS ................................................................................11-3
INSTRUCTION SUMMARY .......................................................................................11-4
INSTRUCTION DESCRIPTIONS ................................................................................11-5

12.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE ...............................................................................12-1

12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4

HANDLING PRECAUTIONS ......................................................................................12-1
MAINTENANCE PHILOSOPHY ................................................................................12-1
TROUBLE SHOOTING AIDS ......................................................................................12-2
RETURNING THE MDC-370 TO THE FACTORY .....................................................12-3

13.

APPENDIX A ...............................................................................................................13-1

14.

APPENDIX B – PARAMETER TEMPLATES ........................................................14-1

14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5

MATERIAL...................................................................................................................14-2
PROCESS ......................................................................................................................14-4
DISPLAY SETUP .........................................................................................................14-5
INPUTS .........................................................................................................................14-6
OUTPUTS .....................................................................................................................14-7
vii

viii

14.6
14.7
14.8
14.9
14.10

ACTIONS ..................................................................................................................... 14-8
SENSOR SETUP .......................................................................................................... 14-9
SOURCE SETUP .......................................................................................................... 14-9
DAC SETUP ............................................................................................................... 14-10
UTILITY SETUP ........................................................................................................ 14-10

15.

INDEX..............................................................................................................................11

16.

MENU MAP ................................................................................................................ 16-1

Table of Figures
FIGURE 2-1 OPERATING DISPLAY..........................................................................................2-1
FIGURE 2-2 PARAMETER/STATUS DISPLAY .......................................................................2-2
FIGURE 2-3 PROGRAMMING SECTION ..................................................................................2-4
FIGURE 2-4 ARROW KEYS ........................................................................................................2-4
FIGURE 2-5 ALPHANUMERIC KEYBOARD ..........................................................................2-5
FIGURE 3-1 REMOTE POWER HANDSET ..............................................................................3-7
FIGURE 4-1 THE MAIN MENU .................................................................................................4-1
FIGURE 4-2 SELECT PROCESS SCREEN ..............................................................................4-14
FIGURE 4-3 DEFINE PROCESS SCREEN ..............................................................................4-14
FIGURE 4-4 SELECT LAYER MATERIAL SCREEN .............................................................4-16
FIGURE 4-5 SELECT MATERIAL SCREEN............................................................................4-16
FIGURE 4-6 DEFINE MATERIAL SCREEN ............................................................................4-17
FIGURE 4-7 SYSTEM SETUP MENU SCREEN .....................................................................4-24
FIGURE 4-8 DISPLAY SETUP SCREEN .................................................................................4-24
FIGURE 4-9 SELECT OUTPUT SCREEN ...............................................................................4-28
FIGURE 4-10 PROGRAM OUTPUT SCREEN ........................................................................4-28
FIGURE 4-11 SENSOR SETUP SCREEN ................................................................................4-35
FIGURE 4-12 SOURCE SETUP SCREEN ................................................................................4-39
FIGURE 4-13 DAC SETUP SCREEN .......................................................................................4-42
FIGURE 4-14 UTILITY SETUP SCREEN ................................................................................4-42
FIGURE 5-1 SIGN-ON SCREEN ................................................................................................5-1
FIGURE 5-2 RUN PROCESS SELECTION SCREEN ...............................................................5-2
FIGURE 5-3 RATE VS. TIME GRAPH ......................................................................................5-3
FIGURE 5-4 RATE DEVIATION VS. TIME GRAPH ...............................................................5-3
FIGURE 5-5 THICKNESS VS. TIME GRAPH ...........................................................................5-3
FIGURE 5-6 POWER VS. TIME GRAPH ...................................................................................5-4
FIGURE 5-7 SOURCE/SENSOR STATUS SCREEN .................................................................5-4
FIGURE 5-8 I/O STATUS SCREEN ...........................................................................................5-5
FIGURE 5-9 VIEW RESULTS SCREEN ....................................................................................5-6
FIGURE 5-10 RATE VS. TIME PROCESS LOG GRAPH .........................................................5-7
FIGURE 5-11 TYPICAL PROCESS PROFILE .........................................................................5-13
FIGURE 7-1 PASSIVE INPUT BUFFER CIRCUIT ...................................................................7-3
FIGURE 7-2 ACTIVE INPUT BUFFER CIRCUIT ......................................................................7-4
FIGURE 7-3 DAC OUTPUT CIRCUIT .......................................................................................7-5
FIGURE 7-4 SENSOR INPUT BUFFER CIRCUIT ...................................................................7-6
FIGURE 7-5 SOURCE OUTPUT DRIVER CIRCUIT ................................................................7-7
FIGURE 8-1 MDC-370 FRONT PANEL .....................................................................................8-4
FIGURE 8-2 MDC-370 REAR PANEL .......................................................................................8-5
FIGURE 8-3 DAC SOCKET CONNECTOR PIN OUT ..............................................................8-6
FIGURE 8-4 SOURCE SOCKET CONNECTOR PIN OUT .......................................................8-6
FIGURE 8-5 D9S DTE REAR-PANEL RS-232 SOCKET CONNECTOR.................................8-7
FIGURE 8-6 D37P DISCRETE I/O PLUG CONNECTOR ..........................................................8-8
FIGURE 8-7 RJ11 FRONT PANEL RS-232 CONNECTOR ......................................................8-9
FIGURE 8-8 FRONT PANEL MANUAL POWER CONNECTOR ...........................................8-9
FIGURE 8-9 MDC-370 TOP VIEW (COVER REMOVED) .....................................................8-10
FIGURE 9-1 SENSOR OSCILLATOR SCHEMATIC ................................................................9-5
FIGURE 9-2 SENSOR OSCILLATOR OUTLINE ......................................................................9-6
FIGURE 9-3 IF-111 INSTRUMENTATION FEEDTHROUGH OUTLINE...............................9-7
FIGURE 9-4 SH-102 SENSOR HEAD OUTLINE ......................................................................9-8
FIGURE 9-5 TYPICAL SYSTEM INSTALLATION..................................................................9-9
FIGURE 13-1 PLUG PIN OUT - SOURCE CABLE CONNECTOR .........................................13-1
FIGURE 13-2 PLUG PIN OUT - DAC CABLE CONNECTOR ................................................13-2
FIGURE 16-1 ...............................................................................................................................16-1

ix

List of Tables
TABLE 5-1 TROUBLE CONDITIONS AND WARNINGS ...................................................... 5-9
TABLE 8-1 DAC SYSTEM INTERFACE CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS .................... 8-6
TABLE 8-2 SOURCE CONTROL SYSTEM INTERFACE CONNECTOR PINASSIGNMENTS ................................................................................................................. 8-6
TABLE 8-3 D9 REAR PANEL RS-232/RS-485 CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS............ 8-7
TABLE 8-4 DISCRETE I/O SYSTEM INTERFACE CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS ... 8-8
TABLE 8-5 RJ11 FRONT PANEL RS-232 CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS ................... 8-9
TABLE 8-6 FRONT PANEL MANUAL POWER CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS ........ 8-9
TABLE 10-1 MATERIAL DENSITY AND ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE VALUE ................... 10-7
TABLE 13-1 SOURCE CONTROL CABLE COLOR CODE - (4 PIN MINI DIN)............... 13-1
TABLE 13-2 DAC CABLE COLOR CODE - (7 PIN MINI DIN) ......................................... 13-2x

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

1.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1.1
PURPOSEThe MDC-370 is a full-featured deposition controller which can provide
automatic control of single or multi-layer film deposition in either a production ordevelopment environment. The MDC-370 will improved predictability andrepeatability of deposited film characteristics through dependable digital control
and multi-sensor averaging.
The MDC-370 makes programming and operation easy with large LED displays
for important run-time values, a graphic LCD display for graphs of rate, rate
deviation, thickness and deposit power, an easy to use menu-driven user interface
providing unparalleled access to plain English programming of processes,
materials, inputs and outputs.
1.2
FEATURES
The MDC-370 incorporates numerous features which are economically justifiable
as a result of rapid advances in semiconductor technology and the advent of low
cost microprocessors.
1.2.1

MULTI-CRYSTAL AVERAGING

The MDC-370 provides greater accuracy in thin film deposition by averaging up
to six sensors distributed throughout the chamber to account for changes in vapor
distribution during deposition.
1.2.2

EXTENSIVE PROGRAM STORAGE

The MDC-370 is capable of storing up to 99 processes, 999 layer definitions and
32 complete material definitions. Once a program is entered it will be maintained
in memory for a minimum of 5 years without external power.
1.2.3

DYNAMIC MEASUREMENT UPDATE RATE

Measurement is dynamically adjusted from 0.5 to 10 Hz for optimum resolution
and control.
1.2.4

SUPERIOR GRAPHICS DISPLAY

The MDC-370 features a 256x64 pixel LCD graphics display allowing real time
graphing of important process information such as rate, rate deviation, thickness
and power.
1.2.5

PROGRAM SECURITY

To assure the integrity of stored programs, the MDC-370 incorporates edit
passwords to guard against unauthorized program changes.
1.2.6

DESIGNED FOR UNATTENDED OPERATIONThe MDC-370 has been designed for truly automatic operation and toward thisend incorporates extensive internal monitoring and overriding abort circuitry to
GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
minimize the possibility of damage in the event of a failure or other problem inthe total deposition system. In addition there are attention, alert and alarm signals
with adjustable volume for trouble and routine operator call.
1.2.7

FAIL SAFE ABORTS

In the event of an MDC-370 failure, as evidenced by unsatisfactory internal
checks, the MDC-370 will abort the process and shut off all outputs. In addition
to the internal checks, the MDC-370 also provides user enabled aborts on
excessive rate control error or crystal failure.
1.2.8

ABORT STATUS RETENTION

In the event that the MDC-370 does abort during the deposition process, pertinent
information is stored at the time of abort. More importantly, the process can beeasily resumed once the problem is corrected without re-programming.
1.2.9

RUN COMPLETION ON CRYSTAL FAILURE

The extensive monitoring and abort functions are designed to protect the system
and/or process from serious and hopefully infrequent malfunctions of thedeposition system. A condition which need not cause an abort is the condition of
crystal failure. The MDC-370 can be set to abort upon crystal failure or run tocompletion using a backup crystal or time/power method.
1.2.10 POWERFUL SYSTEM INTERFACE

Fully programmable discrete inputs and outputs permit the MDC-370 to be easilyinterfaced into deposition systems controlling the most complex processes. Also,
source control outputs are fully isolated avoiding ground loop problems. The
MDC-370 also supports input from an optical monitor for optical termination offilm thickness.
1.2.11 POWER SUPPLY NOISE TOLERANCE

Integral RFI filter and large energy storage capacitors will tolerate high levels of
power supply noise and power interruptions of 700 ms or less without effect.
1.2.12 INTERNATIONAL STANDARD POWER CONNECTOR

The power connector is internationally approved and meets IEC (International
Electrotechnical Commission) standards. It allows selection of input power
voltages ranging from 100 to 240 volts at a frequency of 50 or 60 Hz and includes
an integral RFI filter.
1.2.13 FIELD UPGRADABLE

Plug-in interface boards and option boards allow the basic unit to be upgraded in
the field to the maximum system level.

1-2

GENERAL DESCRIPTIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

1.3

SPECIFICATIONS

1.3.1

MEASUREMENT

Frequency Resolution
Mass Resolution
Thickness Accuracy
Measurement Update Rate
Display Update Rate
Sensor Crystal Frequency
1.3.2

DISPLAY

Thickness Display
Rate Display
Power Display
Time Display
Crystal Health %Layer Number
Graphics Display

1.3.3

0.03 Hz @ 6.0 MHz
0.375 ng/cm2
0.5% + 1 count
Dynamically adjusted, 0.5 to 10 Hz
10 Hz
2.5, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 MHz

Autoranging: 0.000 to 999.9 KÅ
Autoranging: 0.0 to 999 Å/sec
0.0 to 99.9%
0 to 9:59:59 H:MM:SS
0 to 99%
1 to 999
256X64 LCD with CCFL
backlighting

COMMUNICATION

RS-232 serial port standard
RS-485 serial port optional
IEEE-488 bus interface optional

1.3.4

PROGRAM STORAGE CAPACITY

Process
Layer
Material

1.3.5

99, user definable
999, user definable
32, user definable

PROCESS PARAMETERS

Process Name
Edit password
Run/View password
Layer# 1 to 999

12 character string
4 character string
4 character string
Material name, Thickness

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

1.3.6

MATERIAL PARAMETERS

Material Name
Source #Pocket #Material Density
Acoustic ImpedanceTooling Factor
Proportional Gain
Integral Time Constant
Derivative Time Constant
Rise to Soak Time
Soak Power
Soak Time
Rise to Predeposit Time
Predeposit Power
Predeposit Time
Rate Establish Time
Rate Establish Error
Deposition Rate (1 to 5)
Rate Start Thickness (1 to 4)
Rate Stop Thickness (1 to 4)
Time Setpoint
Ramp to Feed Time
Feed Power
Feed Time
Ramp to Idle Time
Idle Power
Maximum PowerPower Alarm Delay
Minimum Power
Rate Deviation Attention
Rate Deviation Alarm
Rate Deviation Abort
Sample Dwell %Sample Period
Sensor (1 to 6) FailSensor (1 to 6) ToolingSensor (1 to 6) Weight
Sensor (1 to 6) Crystal #Sensor (1 to 6) Backup Sensor #Sensor (1 to 6) Backup Crystal #Material Password

1-4

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

10 character string
1 to 6
1 to 80.80 to 99.9 gm/cm3
0.50 to 59.9 gm/cm2 sec
10.0 to 499.9%
0.00 to 9999
0 to 99.9 sec
0 to 99.9 sec
0 to 9:59:59 H:MM:SS
0 to 99%
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 99.9%
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 60 sec
0 to 99.9%00.0 to 999.9 Å/sec
0 to 100%
0 to 100%
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 99.9%
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 9:59:59
0 to 99.9%
0 to 99.9%
0 to 99 sec
0 to 99.9%
0 to 99.9%
0 to 99.9%
0 to 99.9%
0 to 100.0%
0:01:00 to 9:59:59
NotUsed, Disable, HaltLast, Halt,
TimePower, Switch
10.0 to 499.9%
10.0 to 499.9%
1 to 81 to 6
1 to 84 character string

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
The MDC-370 also has a built in material library that contains many common
material names along with their density and acoustic impedance values.
1.3.7

INPUT/OUTPUT CAPABILITY

Sensor Inputs
Source Outputs

Discrete Inputs

Discrete Outputs

Abort Output
Remote Power Handset
RS-232 Communication
DAC Recorder Outputs
1.3.8

2 Standard, up to 6 optional, BNC
inputs
2 Standard, up to 6 optional, fully
isolated, 2.5, 5, 10 volts @ 20 ma.
0.002% resolution
8 Standard, up to 16 optional fully
programmable inputs.
The Passive I/O card (PN#179216)
has TTL level inputs activated by ashort across the input pins.
The Active I/O card (PN#179239) has
inputs activated by 12 to 120 volt
AC/DC across the input pins.
8 standard, up to 16 optional fully
programmable, SPST relay, 120VA,
2A max.
1 standard and 1 optional SPST
Relay, 120VA, 2A max.
Front panel, RJH jack
Rear panel, 9 pin, Full duplex, DTE
Front panel, RJ11 jack, Full duplex
Two 0 to 5 volts, 0.02% resolution

SENSOR PARAMETERS

Number of Crystals
Shutter Relay Type
Position Control
Position Drive
Feedback Type
Rotator Delay

1 to 8
Normally open, normally closed, dual,
or none.
Manual, direct, BCD, or individual.
Up, down, Fast, inline, single step, or
double step.
Individual, BCD, single home, in
position, or no feedback.
0 to 99 sec

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

1.3.9

SOURCE PARAMETERS

Number of Pockets
Shutter Relay Type
Shutter Delay
Position Control
Position Drive
Feedback Type
Rotator Delay
Source Voltage Range

1 to 8
Normally open, normally closed, or
none.
0.0 to 9.9 sec
Manual, direct, BCD, or individual.
Up, down, Fast, inline, single step, or
double step.
Individual, BCD, single home, in
position, or no feedback.
0 to 99 sec
2.5, 5, 10 volts

1.3.10 RECORDER PARAMETERS

Recorder #1/#2 Output
Recorder #1/#2 Scale

Rate, rate dev., power or thickness
Full scale %, 2/3 digit

1.3.11 UTILITY SETUP PARAMETER

Crystal Frequency
Simulate Mode
Interface Address
Attention Volume
Alert Volume
Alarm Volume
Data Points/Minute
Time
Date

2.5, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 MHz
On/Off
1 to 32
0 to 100 to 100 to 1030,60,120,300,600 PPM
0 to 23:59
MM/DD/YY

1.3.12 OTHER

Input Power Requirements
Operating Temperature Range
Physical Weight
Physical Size

1-6

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

100, 120, 200, 240 VAC; 50/60 Hz;
25 watts
0 to 50°C
10 LB
19” rackmount case
3 1/2” high x 9 3/8” deepMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

1.4
ACCESSORIESPart Number
179215179216179217179218179219179220179239123200-5

Description
Dual Source/Sensor Board
Passive I/O Board
IEEE-488 Communication Board
Internal Storage Data/Time Clock
RS-232 to RS-485 conversion
Remote Power Handset
Active I/O Board
SH-102 Sensor Head, cables, andcarousel of 10 each 6MHz Gold SC101 sensor crystals
124201-4
SO-100 Oscillator with 6" and 10'
BNC Cables.
130200-2
IF-111 Instrument Feedthrough, 1" ORing with 1 electrical connector anddual 3/16" water tubes.
130204-2
IF-276 Instrumentation Feedthrough,2 3/4" Conflat® Flange seal with 1
electrical connector and dual 3/16"
water tubes.
150902SF-120 Combination Sensor Head,
Feedthrough, Cables, Crystals andOscillator.
123204-1
Internal Coax Cable 30".
123204-2
Internal Coax Cable 60".
124202-1
BNC Cable Assembly 10'.
124202-2
BNC Cable Assembly 20'
124204
BNC Cable Assembly 6".
103220SC-101 Carousel of 10 each 6MHz
gold sensor crystals.
103221
SC-102 Carousel of 10 each 6MHz
silver sensor crystals.
Refer to Maxtek Price List for more accessories and other products.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

2.

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLSThe front panel is divided into two sections, the operating section and theprogramming section. The left half of the panel is devoted to the operating
displays and controls. The right half is used for programming, viewing stored
processes, and displaying the status of the selected process.
2.1
OPERATING DISPLAYS
All of the operating displays are updated ten times per second unless thecontroller is in the Abort mode. When in the Abort mode, the values of theoperating displays are held constant so the operator will know the values at thetime of the Abort. The controller will also flash the operating displays while in
Abort to alert the operator.

Figure 2-1 Operating Display
2.1.1

RATE

A three digit display with a floating decimal point is used to display deposition
rate in angstroms per second at a resolution of 0.1 Å/sec from 0 to 99.9 Å/sec, anda resolution of 1.0 Å/sec for rates from 100 to 999 Å/sec.
2.1.2

POWER

A three digit display with a fixed decimal point displays percent of maximum
power with a resolution of 0.1% from 0 to 99.9%. This corresponds to the control
voltage range of 0 to 9.99 volts.
2.1.3

THICKNESS

Four digits with an autoranging decimal point display measured thickness in KÅwith a resolution of 1 Å from 0 to 9.999 KÅ, a resolution of 10 Å from 10.00 KÅ
to 99.99 KÅ and a resolution of 100 Å from 100.0 KÅ to 999.9 KÅ.
2.1.4

LAYER NUMBER

Three digits display the layer number of the current process.

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS

2-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
2.1.5

CRYSTAL HEALTH %A two-digit display is used to show the health percentage of the active
sensor/crystal. If multiple sensors/crystals are active then the crystal with thelowest health will be displayed. A fresh crystal starts out with a health of 99%.
2.1.6

TIME DISPLAY

Time is displayed in hours, minutes and seconds. This display can be configured
to show the estimated time to go for the state or layer or the elapsed process, layeror state times.
2.2
PARAMETER/STATUS DISPLAYS
A graphics display labeled Parameter/Status is used for process programming andcontroller setup as well as displaying run-time status and data graphing. The
operator can switch between programming screens and status screens by pressing
the Program and Status keys on the front panel. Upon power up, theParameter/Status display automatically reverts to the last viewed status screen.
Detail descriptions of the different programming and status screens can be foundin Section 4 and 5.
Displays the current
process name.

Displays thecontroller modes,
states or troubles.

Displays the current
material name.

Sample
10
R
a
t
e

Cr

0

Process Ready1
Displays the time
axis scale factor

Figure 2-2 Parameter/Status Display
2.3
OPERATING CONTROLSNormal operation of the MDC-370 is controlled by seven operating keys, Manual,Start, Abort, Reset, Zero, Shutter and Status. Except for the Zero and Status keys,
each of the other keys is equipped with an LED to indicate the controller’s status.
2.3.1

MANUAL KEY

This key is used to toggle the MDC-370 Manual mode on and off. A red lightbehind this key indicates the controller is in manual power control mode. Thismode may be selected at any time providing that the controller is not in Abortmode. The Manual mode indicates that the source control voltage output for theactive source is being controlled through the Remote Power Handset. (The active
source is set by the active material's Source parameter).

2-2

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLSMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
In the Manual mode the control voltage remains constant unless incremented up
or down by means of the Remote Power Handset. At entry into the Manual mode,the power is left at the last value prior to entry and is thereafter modified only
through the Remote Power Handset. Exit from the manual mode is accomplishedby means of the Manual or Reset key.
The MDC-370 can also be aborted through the Remote Power Handset. This
abort feature is active whether or not MDC-370 is in the manual mode.
2.3.2

START KEY

The Start key starts a process, starts a layer, or resumes an aborted process. A
green light behind this key indicates the controller is in process. When this key ispressed the first time a list of stored processes is displayed in the Parameter/Statuswindow. You simply scroll the cursor on to the desired process and press Start
again to start the process.
2.3.3

ABORT KEY

The Abort key drives the MDC-370 into the Abort mode. All source powers are
set to zero and discrete outputs are set to inactive state. A red light behind thiskey indicates the controller is in the abort mode.
2.3.4

RESET KEY

The Reset key is used to clear the controller from Abort mode and put it into theReady mode. A yellow light behind this key indicates a Ready mode. The Reset
key is inactive during the In Process mode so that a premature exit from the In
Process mode requires an abort. Caution! Once a process is reset, it cannot be
resumed. So don't reset an aborted process if you want to resume it once theproblem is cleared.
2.3.5

ZERO KEY

Pressing the Zero key causes the thickness display to go to zero. This key isactive at all times and if pressed during the deposit state will result in a film
thicker than that desired by an amount equal to the thickness displayed at the timethe display was zeroed.
2.3.6

SHUTTER KEY

This key is used to manually open and close all source shutters. The red light isilluminated when the active source shutter relay is closed. This key is only active
when the controller is in the Process Ready mode.
2.3.7

STATUS KEY

Pressing the Status key will bring up one of the two run-time status screens.
Repeatedly pressing the key will cycle through the different status screens. Refer
to Section 5 for a detailed description of these status screens.

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS

2-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
2.3.8

GRAPH KEY

Pressing the Graph key will bring up one of the four run-time graph screens.
Repeatedly pressing the key will cycle through the different graph screens. Refer
to Section 5 for a detailed description of these status screens.

Figure 2-3 Programming Section
2.3.9

ARROW KEYS

The arrow keys are used to navigate through the programming and setup menu
structure. These keys will auto-repeat if they are held down for more than half asecond.

Figure 2-4 Arrow Keys
2.3.10 PROGRAM KEY

Pressing the programming key will bring up the last viewed programming screen.
If a programming screen is already shown, nothing will happen. This key is also
used in conjunction with the Up and Down Arrow keys to adjust the contrast of
the Parameter/Status display. If the screen background is white then press andhold the Program and the down arrow keys until the text is easy to read. If thescreen background is blue and the text cannot be seen then press and hold theProgram and the up arrow keys.

2-4

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLSMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

2.3.11 ALPHANUMERIC KEYBOARD

The alphanumeric keyboard is used toedit controller parameters. Refer to
Section 4 for details on enter newparameter values.
‘Backspace’‘Enter’Figure 2-5 Alphanumeric Keyboard

FRONT PANEL DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS

2-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

3.

BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

3.1
INSPECTIONYour MDC-370 was released to the carrier in good condition and properly
packed. It is essential to all concerned that the contents of the shipment be
carefully examined when unpacked to assure that no damage occurred in transit.
Check the material received against the packing list to be certain that all elements
are accounted for. Items included with your controller are:
1 MDC-370 Deposition Controller
1 Operation and Service Manual
1 Power cord
1 Source cable (4 pin mini DIN connector)
1 Discrete I/O connector kit (37P D shell)
In addition, you may have ordered one or more of the accessories listed in Section
1.4. If there is evidence of loss or damage:a) Notify the carrier or the carrier agent to request inspection of the loss
or damage claimed.
b) Keep the shipping containers until it is determined whether or not they
are needed to return the equipment to Maxtek.
3.2
INITIAL POWER UP
Upon initial power up the unit will start with all LED’s lighted. The
Parameter/Status display will show the controller Sign-on screen with its
configuration information. The unit will stay in this state until a key is pressed.
When any key on the front panel is pressed, the operating display and theParameter/Status display will return to the last viewed screen prior to loss of
power.
3.3
SAMPLE PROGRAM
The sample program listed below is included in the MDC-370 memory at the timeof shipment. It can be used to check out the controller by running it in Simulate
mode. Follow instructions in Section 4 to navigate through the menu structure.
Check the controller parameter values against the sample program for discrepancy
and change if necessary. Note also, if the source or sensor configuration has beenchanged during familiarization with the controller programming, appropriate
source and sensor parameter values also need to be retained for the sample
program to run correctly.
Once the sample program has been checked, use the programming Main Menu,
Edit System Setup, Edit Utility Setup, to select Simulate mode ON, then use Start
to select and run the sample program in Simulate mode.

BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

3-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
3.3.1

MATERIAL #1 PARAMETERS

Material Name
Source #Pocket #Material Density
Acoustic ImpedanceTooling Factor
Proportional gain
Integral Time constant
Derivative Time constant
Rise to Soak Time
Soak Power
Soak Time
Rise to Predeposit Time
Predeposit Power
Predeposit Time
Rate Establish Time
Rate Establish Error
Deposition Rate #1
Rate Start Thickness (1 to 4)
Rate Stop Thickness (1 to 4)
Time Setpoint
Ramp to Feed Time
Feed Power
Feed Time
Ramp to Idle Time
Idle Power
Maximum PowerPower Alarm Delay
Minimum Power
Rate Deviation Attention
Rate Deviation Alarm
Rate Deviation Abort
Sample Dwell %Sample Period
Sensor #1
Sensor #1 ToolingSensor #1 Weight
Sensor #1 Crystal #Sensor #1 Backup Sensor #Sensor #1 Backup Crystal #Material Password

3-2 BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

Cr
1
1
07.20 gm/cm3
28.95 gm/cm2 sec
100 %
2400
99.9
0.00
0:00:10 H:MM:SS
5%
0:00:10
0:00:109.5 %
0:00:050 sec
0%10.0 Å/sec
100%
100%
0
0:00:05
7%
0:00:10
0
0
20 %
5 sec
0%
0%
0%
0%
100.0 %
0:01:00
TimePower
70 %
100 %
1
1
1
0000

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
3.3.2

MATERIAL #2 PARAMETERS

Material Name
Source #Pocket #Material Density
Acoustic ImpedanceTooling Factor
Proportional gain
Integral Time constant
Derivative Time constant
Rise to Soak Time
Soak Power
Soak Time
Rise to Predeposit Time
Predeposit Power
Predeposit Time
Rate Establish Time
Rate Establish Error
Deposition Rate #1
Rate Start Thickness (1 to 4)
Rate Stop Thickness (1 to 4)
Time Setpoint
Ramp to Feed Time
Feed Power
Feed Time
Ramp to Idle Time
Idle Power
Maximum PowerPower Alarm Delay
Minimum Power
Rate Deviation Attention
Rate Deviation Alert
Rate Deviation Alarm
Sample Dwell %Sample Period
Sensor #1
Sensor #1 ToolingSensor #1 Weight
Sensor #1 Crystal #Sensor #1 Backup Sensor #Sensor #1 Backup Crystal #Material Password

Au
1
2
19.30 gm/cm3
23.18 gm/cm2 sec
100 %
5000
99.9
0.00
0:00:05 H:MM:SS
25 %0:00:05
0:00:0537.5 %
0:00:100 sec
0%20.0 Å/sec
100%
100%
0
0:00:05
10 %
0:00:10
0
0
50 %
5 sec
0%
0%
0%
0%
100 %
0:01:00
TimePower
70 %
100 %
1
1
1
0000

BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

3-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
3.3.3

PROCESS PARAMETERS

Process Name
SampleLayer No.
1
2

Thickness
0.400 KÅ1.050 KÅMaterial
Cr
Au

3.4
SIMULATE OPERATION
Testing the MDC-370 is best accomplished by checking its operation in the
Simulate mode. This mode can be selected by using the programming Main
Menu, Edit System Setup, Edit Utility Setup, to select Simulate mode ON, thenuse Start to select and run a process in Simulate mode.
The Simulate mode is identical to the Normal mode except that the sensor inputs
are simulated. For this reason, entry to the Simulate mode will extinguish the
Crystal Failure message if it is flashing. No other difference between the
Simulate mode and the Normal mode occurs until entry to the Deposit State.
3.5
MANUAL OPERATION
Manual Mode is selected by depressing the Manual key. The LED behind the key
will light up indicating the controller is in Manual mode.
The Manual Mode is identical to the normal mode in all respects except thatsource power for the active source is controlled only through the Remote Power
Handset.
The Remote Power Handset has three push buttons, see Figure 3-1. Without anyof the buttons depressed, the output power is maintained at its last value.
Depressing the “PWR UP” button will increase the power, depressing the “PWR
DN” button will decrease the power and depressing the “ABORT” button will put
the controller into the Abort mode.
The Abort Mode is active whether or not the MDC-370 is in Manual Mode andtherefore can be used as a remote “panic button”.
The minimum increment by which the power is increased or decreased is 0.1%.
3.6
INSTALLING OPTION BOARDS
Option boards are most easily installed while the MDC-370 is on the bench.
Figure 8-9 shows the location of the various option boards. Also, they are clearlymarked on the rear panel.
All Dual Source-Sensor boards are identical, as are all Discrete I/O boards. The
input-output configuration of these boards is defined by the position into which
they are installed. One exception for the Discrete I/O boards is that the jumper J2
on the board installed in the Discrete I/O-2 position has to be connected. This isrequired so the controller will acknowledge the second Discrete I/O board.
A Source-Sensor board plugged into the second position will provide sensor
inputs numbers 3 & 4 and source outputs numbers 3 & 4. A Source-Sensor board
3-4 BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
plugged into the third position will provide sensor inputs numbers 5 & 6, andsource outputs numbers 5 & 6.
3.6.1

SOURCE-SENSOR BOARD

1. Remove the chassis top cover.
2. Remove the three plastic hole-plugs from the rear panel.
3. Carefully slide the two BNC connectors on the Source-Sensor board into
the two top holes on the rear panel. Then with even pressure, push thecard edge connector down into the Main board at J12, J13 or J14.
4. Fasten the two BNC connectors using the nuts and washers supplied withthe kit. Make sure the board is properly aligned.
5. Tighten the board down with the tie wrap.
6. Replace the chassis top cover and apply power to the controller.
7. The Sign On screen should acknowledge a new Source-Sensor card
installed.
3.6.2

DISCRETE I/O BOARD

1. Remove the chassis top cover.
2. Locate Discrete I/O-2 slot and remove the slot cover.
3. Carefully slide the D37 connector of the DIO board into the slot and fasten
it using the hex fasteners and washers supplied with the kit.
4. Fasten the other end of the board to the standoffs using the two # 4-40
screws provided.
5. Plug the 26-pin ribbon connector into the DIO edge connector J1.
6. Replace the chassis top cover and apply power to the controller.
7. The Sign On screen should acknowledge Discrete I/O-2 installed.
3.6.3

IEEE-488 OPTION BOARD

1. Remove the chassis top cover.
2. Locate IEEE-488 option slot and remove the slot cover.
3. Carefully slide the connector of the IEEE-488 board into the slot and fasten
it using the fasteners and washers supplied with the kit.
4. Plug the 20-pin ribbon connector into J7 connector on the Main board.
5. Replace the chassis top cover and apply power to the controller.
6. The Sign On screen should acknowledge IEEE-488 option installed.
3.7
DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC) CHECKOUT
The built-in DAC function on the Main board contains two converters, allowing
simultaneous recording of any two of the following four parameters: Rate, Rate
deviation, Power and Thickness. The full-scale output of each converter is 5
volts, is single ended and is referenced to ground. Parameter selection for each of
the channels is accomplished independently by making the appropriate choices inthe DAC setup menu.
In addition to the individual channel output pins there are two control pins which
are common to both channels and are intended to simplify the process of setting
up analog recorders. Connecting the Zero control line to ground will drive bothchannel outputs to zero, allowing the recorder zero reference to be easily set.
BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

3-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Releasing the Zero line and connecting the Full Scale line to ground will drive
both channel outputs to full scale for establishing the recorder full scalecalibration.
Each channel can be set independently to convert either the two or the three leastsignificant digits of the chosen parameter to a proportional analog signal,
corresponding to the DAC setup option chosen. With the three-digit setting, athickness of 0.500 KÅ would result in an analog output of 2.50 volts, or a scale
factor of 5 mV/Å. If more resolution is desired, either channel can be configured
to convert only the last two digits of the parameter, thus the analog output would
achieve full scale at 99Å. The output scale factor in this configuration is 50
mV/Å.
The above scale factors are based on the assumption that the thickness display isin the 0 - 9.999 KÅ range. Because the thickness and rate displays are autoranging, the analog output of these variables will also autorange so that in theabove example, if the thickness is in the range of 10 KÅ to 99.9 KÅ, the analog
scale factor would be 50 millivolts per 10 Å, also ten times larger.
The Rate deviation parameter must be handled differently than the otherparameters because it can be negative. Maximum positive error is converted to 5
volts, maximum negative error is converted to 0 volts and zero error is converted
to a mid scale, 2.5 volt, output. Maximum corresponds to 99 or 999, plus 1.
The DAC can be checked by putting the MDC-370 into the Simulate mode andchecking for correspondence between the analog output and the selected front
panel displays.

3-6 BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 3-1 Remote Power Handset

BENCH CHECKOUT & INSPECTION

3-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

4.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

4.1

GENERAL

4.1.1

NAVIGATING THE MENU STRUCTURE

Before attempting to navigate the menu structure of the MDC-370 controller,
please refer to Section 2 which provides a brief summary of the front-panel
displays and key functions. A graphical menu structure is shown in Figure 16-1.
Note that first key press following power-on will bring up the display functionused when power was switched off, i.e. either a status display screen or aprogramming screen.
This may be confusing until the full scope of the controller’s capabilities areunderstood. However, as their names suggest, the Status, Graph and Programkeys select the display of status screens, graph screens and programming screens,
respectively. Also note that the last viewed screen for each type is remembered
and will be displayed the next time that display type is selected.

Main Menu>View/Edit Process <View/Edit Material
View Results
Edit System Setup

Figure 4-1 The Main Menu
Press the Program key to enter the programming mode. The programming
screens can be visualized as a two-dimensional menu format. The Main Menu isvisualized at the far left, with an increasing level of detail in the menus to theright. The Left and Right-arrow keys are used to move between menus. The Up
and Down-arrow keys are used to scroll through a list of parameters or options ineach menu. To select a menu option, align the cursors with the option, then press
either the Enter key or the Right-arrow key. This will present the next screen
associated with the selected option. Please note that holding the Left arrow
key will always bring you back to the Main Menu screen no matter where
you are in the menu structure.
Each of the programming screens is described in detail later in this section.

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4.1.2

ENTERING ALPHA CHARACTERS

To enter a name, press the key that contains the letter or character you wish toenter. Next, press the Alpha key to change the number to the first letter of thatkey. Keep pressing the Alpha key to get the desired letter. Its upper/lower casecan be toggled by pressing the Shift key. Once the desired letter is achieved,
repeat the above procedure and enter the remainder of the name. Note, thenumber 9 key contains characters Y, Z, and ‘space’. Use this key to enter a space.
4.1.3

ENTERING TIME PARAMETERS

The MDC-370 expresses time in 24-hour h:mm:ss format. In programming atime parameter, the Decimal ‘.’ key is used to separate hour, minute and second.
Hence, 1:45:23 would be entered as “1.45.23” and 0:00:35 entered as “..35”,
followed by the Enter key.
4.1.4

COPYING AND DELETINGA ‘process’ is defined by one or more ‘layers’, and a layer requires a ‘material’
and a thickness definition. The MDC-370 has the capability of copying anddeleting processes, layers, and materials. Except when copying a layer,
procedures for copying and deleting a process, a layer and a material are the same.
The difference when copying a layer is that layers are pushed-down to makespace for the new layer, and move up when a layer is deleted.
To copy a process, position the cursor at the process to be copied, then press thenumber 1 key. Next, move the cursor to the location where the process is to becopied and press Enter. The process will be copied to the new location with thesame name. If there is already a process name at the new location, it will beoverwritten. The copied process should be given a new name to avoid
confusion. The same procedure applies when copying a material.
When copying a layer, the copied data will be positioned at the selected layer
number. The data of the selected layer, and all following layers, will be pushed
down one layer. Example, if a layer is copied onto Layer #4 location, the existingdata in Layer #4 will be pushed to Layer #5, Layer #5 to Layer #6, etc., while thecopied data is placed in Layer #4.
To delete a process or a material, move the cursor to the item and press the 0 key.
A message will pop up asking for verification of the deletion, press 1 to confirm
and 0 to cancel the deletion.
4.1.5

PASSWORD PROTECTION

Each Process has a View/Run password and an Edit password. Each Material has
an Edit password. The three passwords protect against unauthorized operations.
The passwords default to 0000, or no password protection, at the time of
shipment. Refer to the descriptions below to set each password. Note: The
password protection is only meant to deter unsophisticated users. Be sure torecord passwords, because if you forget a password it will not be possible togain access to the protected item!

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PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
4.1.5.1 VIEW/RUN PROCESS PASSWORD

The View/Run password is required to view or run a process. To set thispassword, select View/Edit Process from the Main Menu, select the process fromthe Select Process screen. Move the cursor onto the View/Run password, type inyour password (4-digit string), and then press the Enter key. A message will pop
up asking for verification to change the password. Press 1 to confirm and 0 tocancel the change. Each time you want to view or run this process, you will now
be asked to enter the correct password. Note that the Edit Process password takes
precedence over the View/Run password. If you know the Edit password, you
can also view the process. Once a password other than 0000 has been installed, it
will not be displayed unless re-entered.
4.1.5.2 EDIT PROCESS PASSWORD

The Edit process password is required to edit a process. To set this password,
select View/Edit Process from the Main Menu, select the process from the SelectProcess screen. Move the cursor onto the Edit password, type in your password(4-digit string), then press the Enter key. A message will pop up asking forverification to change the password. Press 1 to confirm and 0 to cancel thechange. Each time you want to edit this process, you will be asked to enter thecorrect password. Once a password other than 0000 has been installed, it will not
be displayed unless re-entered.
4.1.5.3 EDIT MATERIAL PASSWORD

The Edit material password is required to edit a material. To set this password,
select View/Edit Material from the Main Menu, select the material from theSelect Material screen. Move the cursor down to the Material Password
parameter, the last item in the list, type in your password (4 digit string), thenpress the Enter key. A message will pop up asking for verification to change thepassword. Press 1 to confirm and 0 to cancel the change. Each time you want toedit this material, you will be asked to enter the correct password. Once a
password other than 0000 has been installed, it will not be displayed unless reentered.
4.1.6

ADJUSTING PARAMETER/STATUS DISPLAY CONTRAST

The Parameter/Status display contrast can be adjusted by using the Program key
in conjunction with the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys. Hold down the Program
key and press the Up-arrow key to increase the contrast. Likewise, hold down the
Program key and press the Down-arrow key to decrease the contrast. It may takeseveral seconds for the change in contrast to become apparent.
4.2
GETTING STARTEDThis section is intended to help new users quickly program the 370 for basic
applications. The section gives the best programming sequence and lists
programming examples. See DETAILED PROGRAMMING in section 4.3 for acomplete programming description.

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4.2.1

UTILITY SETUP

The only critical parameter in the Utility Setup is the Crystal Frequency
parameter. This parameter must be set for the specific frequency crystals that you
plan to use (2.5, 3.0, 5.0, 6.0, 9.0, 10.0 MHz).
There is one other parameter in the Utility Setup menu that may be useful in theinitial setup and testing phase of the MDC-370 and that is the Simulate Modeparameter. The Simulate mode of the MDC-370 provides a means of simulating
deposition on the crystal. This mode is useful for testing the setup of the MDC370 without having to deposit any material.
4.2.2

DAC SETUP

If the DAC (digital to analog) outputs are to be used then these parameters can be
set at this time but it is not necessary for the operation of the controller.
4.2.3

SOURCE SETUP

The first item to note is that in defining sources, and sensors for that matter, is that
the MDC-370 will automatically create the inputs and outputs necessary tocomplete the interface based on the parameter settings. Therefore, once the setup
is complete, the user should review the inputs and outputs noting the pin
assignments so that the proper connections can be made. Also note that the I/O
pin assignments can be changed if necessary in the program input and output
screens.
The user must also be aware of the type of I/O card installed in the MDC-370.
There are two types of I/O cards available. Both cards have the same 9 relay
outputs (8 programmable and 1 abort) and the same number of inputs (8programmable). The difference is the standard card has TTL ground true inputs
while the Active I/O card has 115VAC high true inputs. The Active I/O card isdesignated by “Active I/O Card“ written on the rear panel of the MDC-370.
The following two items in the Source Setup are common to almost all types ofsources and typically require definition:
Source Shutter - If the source has a shutter to be activated by the MDC-370
then the Shutter Relay Type parameter must be set to either N.O.
(normally open) or N.C. (normally closed). The typical setting is N.O.
which means that the relay will close to open the shutter.
Once defined, the MDC-370 will create a relay output called “SourceN
Shutter” that should be connected to the shutter actuator. The shutter canbe tested by pressing the Shutter key with the controller in the Process
Ready state. When the red LED in the Shutter key is illuminated then all
source shutters should be opened. When the shutter LED is off then all
source shutters should be closed.
If the shutter actuator has a significant delay in opening and closing then set
the Shutter Delay parameter equal to the delay.

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PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Source Voltage - This parameter must be set to correspond to the input
voltage range of the source power supply (0 to 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 volts).
The settings of the rest of the source parameters are dependent on whether thesource has one or more pockets (crucibles) and whether pocket selection is
manual or automatic.
Single Pocket Source - If the source has only one pocket (single pocket Ebeam gun, filament boat or sputtering source) then the remaining
parameters can be left at their default values.
Multiple Pocket Source with Manual Position Control - For manual
position control of a multiple pocket source, you need only set the Numberof Pockets parameter to the correct number of pockets. Once set, amessage will appear at the start of each layer instructing the operator tochange source N to the required material.
Multiple Pocket Source with Automatic Position Control - There are twoparameters requiring definition which are common to all the various typesof position control. The first is the Number of Pockets parameter and thesecond is the Rotator Delay parameter. The Number of Pockets parameteris simply the number of pockets in the source. The Rotator Delayparameter defines the maximum amount of time allowed for the correct
pocket to rotate into position. This should be set to the time it takes forthe rotator to go from pocket #1 all the way around to pocket #1 again.
The settings of the three remaining parameters required for automatic
pocket position control depends on the required type of position control
and position feedback.
Position Control - The MDC-370 can be setup to either control the pocket
position directly by interfacing to the rotator’s actuator or indirectly byinterfacing to a rotator controller.
Direct Control of Pocket Position - Direct control means that the MDC370 will control the actuator (rotator motor, pneumatic valve, etc.)
directly to get the desired pocket into position. For direct control first
set the Control Parameter to Direct then select one of the following
drive types and follow the instructions:a. Unidirectional Motor Drive - The rotator drive motor can only turn in
one direction. Select Up for the Drive parameter. A relay output
will be created called “SourceN Drive Up” that should be connected
between the rotator motor and power supply.
b. Bi-directional Motor Drive - The rotator motor can turn in either
direction. Select Fast for the Drive parameter. Two relay outputs
will be created. One called “SourceN Drive Up” and one called“SourceN Drive Dn”. With this drive type, the MDC-370 will
activate either the drive up or drive down outputs to rotate to therequired pocket in the least amount of time.

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
c. Motor Driven Inline Source - Select Inline for the Drive typeparameter. Two relay outputs will be created. One called“SourceN Drive Up” and one called “SourceN Drive Dn”. In thiscase the up output will be activated when going from the greatest
pocket to pocket #1.
d. Unidirectional Pneumatic Drive - Select Sngl Step or Dbl Step for the
Drive parameter. A relay output will be created called “SourceN
Drive Up” that should be connected between the rotator’spneumatic valve and power supply. With Sngl Step, the output willpulse once for one second to increment the rotator one position.
With Dbl Step, the output will pulse twice for one second each toincrement the rotator one position.
Indirect Control of Pocket Position - Indirect control means that the MDC370 will indicate the desired pocket position to a pocket rotator controller
through position select outputs. The Drive parameter selects between thetwo following indirect position output formats:a. Individual - With individual format, one output will be createdfor each pocket. So, if pocket 2 is the desired pocket, then the
output “SourceN Pocket 2” will be true while all the other position
outputs will be false.
b. BCD - With BCD format , the MDC-370 will create from one
to three outputs based on the number of pockets. For example, aneight pocket source would use three outputs. If pocket one is thedesired pocket, all outputs will be false. If pocket four is thedesired pocket, outputs one and two will be true and output threewill be false.
Position Feedback - The last step in defining automatic control of a multi-pocket
source is to select the pocket position feedback type. The MDC-370 has thefollowing five types of position feedback available:
No Feedback - As the name implies, no position feedback is created for thistype.
Individual - For this feedback type, one input is created for each pocket
position in the source. The inputs are labeled “SourceN Pocket X”. All
inputs are normally false (open circuit) unless the respective pocket is in
position then that input should be true (closed to ground). For example, asix pocket source would use six inputs. If pocket two was in position then
all the inputs should be false except the input connected to “SourceN
Pocket 2”.
Individual position feedback is the most typical feedback type and isrecommended if more than one type is available.
BCD - Binary Coded Decimal position feedback. This feedback type uses
binary coding to indicate the pocket position. Inputs are numbered mostsignificant bit first. For example, an eight pocket source would use three
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PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
inputs. With pocket one in position, all inputs will be false. With poctket
four in position, inputs one and two will be true and input three will be
false.
SNGL HOME - Single home position feedback. This feedback type uses one
input. The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true(closed to ground) when pocket one is in position.
IN POSITION - In position feedback. This feedback type uses one input.
The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true (closed to
ground) when the desired pocket is in position.
4.2.4

SENSOR SETUP

The following examples demonstrate how the MDC-370 is setup to control thefour basic types of crystal sensor heads available:
Single Crystal Sensor Head - No sensor parameters need to be changed for asingle crystal sensor head.
Single Crystal Sensor Head with Shutter - For a single shuttered sensor
head, set the Shutter Relay Type parameter to either N.O. (normally open)
or N.C. (normally closed). The typical setting is normally open whichmeans that the relay will close to open the shutter. A relay output called“SensorN Shutter” will be created that should be connected between thesensor shutter actuator and power supply.
Dual Crystal Sensor Head with Shutter - For a dual crystal shuttered sensor
head, set the Shutter Relay Type parameter to Dual. A relay output called“DualSnsr1&2 Shtr” will be created that should be connected between thesensor shutter actuator and power supply.
Automatic crystal switching upon failure is enabled in the material menu
by setting the Crystal Fail parameter to Switch and the Backup Sensor
number to 2. Note that with the dual sensor head you define the sensor
number that you would like to use, (or switch too) not the crystal number.
The crystal number need only be defined when you are using a multiple
crystal sensor head (sensor head with one BNC output and more than one
crystal).
Multiple Crystal Sensor Head - The MDC-370 can be setup for either
automatic or manual control of multiple crystal sensor heads.
a. Manual Crystal Position Control - For manual crystal position
control of a multiple crystal sensor head, set the Number of Crystals
parameter to the correct number of crystals. Once set, a message willappear at the start of each layer instructing the operator to change
sensor N to the required crystal number.
b. Automatic Crystal Position Control - There are two parameters
requiring definition which are common to all the various types ofmultiple sensor heads. The first is the Number of Crystals parameterand the second is the Rotator Delay parameter. The Number of
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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Crystals parameter defines the number of crystals in the sensor head.
The Rotator Delay parameter defines the maximum amount of timeallowed for the correct crystal to rotate into position. This should be
set to the time it takes for the rotator to go from crystal #1 all the way
around to crystal #1 again.
The settings of the three remaining parameters required for automatic
crystal position control depend on the type of position control andposition feedback.
Position Control - The MDC-370 can be setup to either control the
crystal position directly by interfacing to the rotator’s actuator orindirectly by interfacing to a rotator controller.
Direct Control of Pocket Position - Direct control means that the
MDC-370 will control the actuator (rotator motor, pneumatic
valve, etc.) directly to get the desired crystal into position. For
direct control, set the Control Parameter to Direct then selectone of the following drive types and follow the instructions:a. Unidirectional Motor Drive - Select Up for the Drive
parameter. A relay output will be created called “SensorN
Drive Up” that should be connected between the rotator
motor and power supply.
b. Bi-directional Motor Drive - Select Fast for the Drive
parameter. Two relay outputs will be created. One called“SensorN Drive Up” and one called “SensorN Drive Dn”.
With this drive type, the MDC-370 will activate either thedrive up or drive down outputs to get to the required crystal
in the least amount of time.
d. Unidirectional Pneumatic Drive - Select Sngl Step or Dbl
Step for the Drive parameter. A relay output will be createdcalled “SensorN Drive Up” that should be connected
between the rotator’s pneumatic valve and power supply.
With Sngl Step, the output will pulse once for one second toincrement the rotator one position. With Dbl Step, theoutput will pulse twice for one second each to increment therotator one position.
Indirect Control of Crystal Position - Indirect control means that the MDC370 will indicate the desired crystal position to a crystal rotator controller
through position select outputs. . The Drive parameter selects between thetwo following indirect position output formats:a. Individual - With individual format, one output will be createdfor each crystal. So, if crystal 2 is the desired crystal, then the
output “SensorN Crystal2” will be true while all the other position
outputs will be false.

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PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
b. BCD - With BCD format , the MDC-370 will create from one
to three outputs based on the number of crystals. For example, aneight crystal sensor head will use three outputs. If crystal one isthe desired crystal, all outputs will be false. If crystal four is thedesired crystal, outputs one and two will be true and output threewill be false.
4.2.4.1 EXAMPLE USING MAXTEK’S RSH-600 SIX CRYSTAL SENSOR HEAD

The following is a list of the sensor parameter settings required to control
Maxtek’s RSH-600 six crystal sensor head.
Number of Crystals-

6

Shutter Relay Type

-

None

Control-

DirectDrive-

Sngl Step

Feedback Type

-

Indiv

Rotator Delay-

30

With the above parameter settings, the MDC-370 will create six position
feedback inputs called “SensorN CrystalX” where X ranges from 1 to 6
and one control output called SensorN Drive Up.
The inputs should be connected to the six position feedback pins on the
RSH-600 sensor head. Pin #1 of connector J1 on the sensor head should
be connected to the “SensorN Crystal1” input on the MDC-370. Pin #2 on
the sensor head should be connected to “SensorN Crystal2” on the MDC370 and so on. Pin #7 on the sensor head should be connected to pin #12
or any of the return pins when using the standard 370 I/O board. Whenusing the 370 Active I/O board then pin #7 of the sensor head should beconnected to one side of a 115VAC source. The other side of the
115VAC source should be connected to the other side of the six position
feedback inputs on the 370.
One pin from the SensorN Drive Up output should be connected to the
115 VAC voltage source and the other to J1. The remaining pin on J1
should connect to the other side of the 115 VAC power supply. In thisconfiguration, combined with the “single step” drive type, whenever the
MDC-360 needs to change crystals it will close the SensorN Drive Up
output for one second. This completes the circuit applying the 115 VAC
to the RSH-600.
4.2.5

INPUT, OUTPUT AND ACTION SETUPThe MDC-370’s inputs, outputs and actions can be used to provide control for, oran interface to all sorts of vacuum system peripherals such as PLC system
controllers, substrate heaters, planetary rotators, etc. If your system doesn’t
require any special interfacing or control then you can skip to the next section.

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The following are a few examples of some typical uses for the MDC-370’s
programmable I/O’s and actions.
Optical Monitor Termination - To setup the MDC-370 to terminate thedeposit on a signal from an optical monitor, the first step is to program an
input that will be connected to an output in the optical monitor. Go to theProgram Inputs screen and select a blank input. Name the input “Optical
Monitor” for future identification. Note the I/O card and the pin numbersof the input so you can later connect the input to the optical monitor.
Next, go to the Program Actions screen and select any action labeled “No
Action”. Press the right arrow key with the cursor on the action Name
parameter and select the TerminateDeposit action. Move the cursor to theConditions field and press the 0 key to add a condition. Move the cursor
down to the Input condition type, press the right arrow key, move thecursor onto the “Optical Monitor” input and press enter. Press enter again
to complete the condition string.
Now, the MDC-370 will terminate the deposit whenever the “Optical
Monitor” input is set true by the optical monitor.
Substrate Heat Control - To create an output in the MDC-370 to switch on
and off a substrate heat controller, first go to the Program Outputs screen
and select a blank output. Name the output “Substrate Heat” for future
identification. Note the I/O card number and the pin numbers of theoutput so you can later connect the output to the substrate heater
controller.
Next, move the cursor onto the Conditions field and press the 0 key to add
a condition. With the cursor on the State condition type, press the rightarrow key and select the state in which you would like the heater to firstturn on. If you would like the heater on during more than the one state,then press the 5 key to add an or “|” symbol then press 0 to add the next
desired state. Repeat this process until all of the states requiring substrateheat have been added to the condition. For example, if you would like
substrate heat to start in the Predeposit Hold state and continue through the
Deposit 1 state then your condition string would look like this “Predeposit
Hold|Deposit 1”.
With the condition string completed, the MDC-370 will set this output true
whenever it is in one of the selected states.
4.2.6

DISPLAY SETUP

The only parameter in the Display Setup menu that affects the controller’sfunction is the Pause On Layer Complete parameter. This parameter determines
whether or not the controller will pause at the completion of each layer. When set
to Yes, the controller will stop at the end of each layer and wait for a Start key
press before continuing. When set to No, the controller will immediately go to
the next layer.

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4.2.7

MATERIAL SETUP

The next step in the initial setup of the controller is to define the materials thatyou wish to deposit. Because of its many features, the MDC-370 has a long list of
material parameters which at first can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the default
settings of most parameters are such that the feature they define is disabled whenleft at the default. This section will list the material parameters typically set for
all materials and the parameters which must be set to utilize the different featuresof the MDC-370. For a detailed description of any material parameter, go to
Section 4.3.2.1.
The following is a list of the material parameters that are typically set whendefining a new material:
Process Name - If you select a material from the default material library (press theright arrow key from the material name parameter and press enter on thedesired material) then the density and acoustic impedance for that material
will be entered automatically. If your material is not in the library then you
must enter the name, density and acoustic impedance.
Source output and pocket number - Defines the source and pocket number of thesource that the material will be deposited from.
Control loop parameters (Proportional Gain, Integral Time, Derivative Time).
The default settings for these parameters are a good starting point.
Deposit Rate #1 - Defines the target deposit rate for the material.
Maximum Power - Defines the maximum deposit power for the material.
Configure Sensors Sensor Weight - Should be left at 100% assuming only one sensor is used formeasurement.
Sensor Tooling - Used to correlate each sensor's rate and thickness readings
with those on the substrates. This parameter should be determined empiricallyusing the Calibrate Sensors feature described in section 10.6.2.
The above parameters are typically all that are needed to deposit the most basic
materials. If no other features are required then the remaining parameters can beneglected. The following is a list of the more specialized features defined by thematerial parameters. All of the features are disabled by default.
4.2.7.1 POWER RAMPS

Power ramps are used for source material conditioning prior to and after thedeposit states. A power ramp is defined by a ramp time, a ramp too power level
and a hold time before the next state. There are two power ramps available prior
to and one after the deposit states. The first ramp prior to deposit is the soak andthe second is the predeposit. If only one ramp is needed prior to deposit then you
should use the predeposit ramp. The power ramp after the deposit states is called
the Feed.
The parameters used to define the three power ramps are as follows:
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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Soak Power Ramp - Rise to Soak Time, Soak Power and Soak Time
Predeposit Power Ramp - Rise to Predeposit Time, Predeposit Power and Ramp
to Feed Time
Feed Power Ramp - Ramp to Feed Time, Feed Power and Feed Time4.2.7.2 AUTOMATIC CRYSTAL SWITCHING

To enable automatic Crystal switching upon failure, set the Fail parameter in the
Configure Sensors screen to Switch then set the Backup Sensor and Backup
Crystal parameters to define what to switch to.
4.2.7.3 RATE ESTABLISH

The rate establish feature is used in critical processes where it is important toestablish the correct deposition rate prior to opening the source shutter anddepositing on the substrates. To use this feature, the sensor head must be
mounted in such a way that it is in the material vapor stream with the source
shutter either opened or closed.
To enable this feature you must set the Rate Estab. Time and Rate Estab. Error
parameters. The Rate Establish Time parameter sets the maximum time that thecontroller will attempt to keep the rate error within the Rate Estab. Error limit fora period of five seconds. If the rate error condition is meet within the allottedtime then the controller will enter the deposit state. If not, then the process will behalted and a Rate Establish Error will be displayed.
4.2.7.4 RATE RAMPS

Rate ramping is typically used at the beginning of the deposition to ease the rate
up slowly to prevent material spitting. Rate ramping is also used towards the endof the deposition to achieve a more accurate endpoint thickness. By slowing
down the rate, the thickness overshoot caused by the delay of the shutter closing
is diminishedThe MDC-370 has four rate ramps available. A rate ramp is defined by its Ramp
Start and Ramp Stop Thickness % and the next rate. For example, to setup the
370 to deposit at 20Å/sec for 90% of the layer, then ramp down to 5 Å/sec overthe last 10%, you would enter the following material parameters:
Deposit Rate #1 = 20Å/sec
Ramp Start Thk #1 = 90%
Ramp StopThk #1 = 100%
Deposit Rate #2 = 5Å/sec
The rate ramps are disabled by default with the Ramp Start and Ramp Stop
Thicknesses set to 100% since 100% represents the end of deposition for thelayer.

4-12 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
4.2.7.5 RATE SAMPLE MODE

Rate sample feature is designed for large deposition thicknesses where crystal life
is a problem. By sampling the rate periodically to maintain rate control, thenclosing the sensor shutter with the rate and power level constant, a large
deposition thickness can be achieved with one crystal.
To enable the rate sample feature, set the Sample Dwell% parameter to thepercentage of time you wish the controller to sample the rate. Then set the
Sample Period parameter to the time period of the sample and not sampling
period.
4.2.7.6 RATE DEVIATION ALARM

The MDC-370 provides three rate deviation levels to trigger an attention sound,an alarm sound, or a process abort. The attention and alarm sounds are
momentarily triggered meaning they will sound when the error is exceeded andclear when within the limit. The process will abort when the abort level isexceeded and the power is at the maximum or minimum power.
4.2.8

PROCESS SETUP

The final step in the initial setup of the controller is to define the processes thatyou wish to run. To define a process you should complete the following steps:
1. Select a blank process from the Select Process Screen. Please note that you
can also copy and modify a similar process to save time.
2. Enter a process name in the Define Process Screen.
3. Move the cursor onto the layer thickness parameter and enter the desired
thickness for the layer.
4. Select a material for the layer by moving the cursor onto the material column,
pressing the right arrow key, moving the cursor onto the desired material forthe layer and pressing the Enter key.
Repeat steps 3&4 until the process layers are complete.
4.2.9

STARTING A NEW PROCESSTo start a new process, the controller must be in the Process Ready State. If not,press abort then reset. From the ready state, press the Start key, move the cursor
onto the desired process and press start again to start the process. To start a
process from a layer other layer #1, press the left arrow key to move the cursor
onto the Starting Layer parameter, enter the desired layer number, move back to
the desired process and press Start again. Please note that you can also change theprocess Run Number from the Start Process screen.
4.2.10 RESUMING A PROCESS FROM ABORT OR HALT

To resume an aborted process, first press the start key. A message will appear
asking you to press the start key again to resume the process. The process will
resume from the layer where the process was aborted starting in either the Rise to
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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Soak or Rise to Predeposit power states. Once in deposit, the thickness willcontinue from the last value prior to the abort.
4.3
DETAILED PROGRAMMING
This section covers all of the MDC-370 programming in detail.
4.3.1

VIEW/EDIT PROCESS

Selecting View/Edit Process from the Main Menu will present the Select Processscreen to delete, copy, view or edit any one of up to 99 processes.
To select a process for viewing and editing, move the cursor onto the desired
process using the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys, then press the Enter key.

Select Process:

1
001 >Cr
02 Au
03
04
05
- Copy process
06- Delete process
07- View/Edit process 08<↓

Figure 4-2 Select Process screen
4.3.1.1 DEFINE A PROCESS

Process Name Layer# Thickness Material>Sample
< 001
0.500
Cr
Edit
0000 002
1.350
Au
View/Run 0000 003
0.000
End Layer
004
0.000
End Layer
005
0.000
End Layer
006
0.000
End Layer
007
0.000
End Layer

Figure 4-3 Define Process screen
Selecting a process will bring up the Define Process screen as shown in Figure
4-3. In this screen you enter all of the parameters that define a process. A
process consists of a twelve-character name, two levels of passwords and finally asequence of layers that makeup the process. Each layer consists of a material andthe desired thickness for the layer. A process can have from 1 to 999 layers as

4-14 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
long as the total number of layers in all the processes is not greater than 999. The
following list describes all of the process parameters:
Process Name (twelve character alphanumeric field)
Each process is referenced by a twelve-character alphanumeric process name.
You enter a process name using the alphanumeric keypad as described in
ENTERING ALPHA CHARACTERS section 4.1.2. Please note that the active
process name is displayed in the upper left-hand corner of all the status screens.
Edit Password (four character alphanumeric field)
The Edit process password allows you to lock out other users from editing aprocess unless the correct password is known. To set this password, move thecursor onto the Edit password field, type in your password then press the Enter
key. A message will pop up asking for verification to change the password. Press
1 to confirm and 0 to cancel the change. Each time you want to edit this process,you will be asked to enter the correct password. Once a password has beenentered, this parameter will not be displayed until the password has been enteredagain.
The default for this parameter is '0000'.
Please note that once the password has been changed, the process cannot be
modified unless the correct password is entered so you must remember yourpasswords.
View/Run Password (four character alphanumeric field)
The View/Run process password allows you to lock out other users from viewing
and/or running a process unless the correct password is known. To set thispassword, move the cursor onto the Edit password field, type in your password
then press the Enter key. A message will pop up asking for verification to change
the password. Press 1 to confirm and 0 to cancel the change. Each time you wantto view or run this process, you will be asked to enter this password. Please notethat the view function of this password is ignored if the Edit Password is not set.
Once a password has been entered, this parameter will not be displayed until the
password has been entered again.
The default for this parameter is '0000'.
Please note that once the password has been changed, the process cannot beviewed or run unless the correct password is entered so you must remember
your passwords.
Layer (000 to 999)
This column shows the layer number in the process. Please note that with the
cursors on a layer number you can copy or delete this layer.
Thickness (000.0 to 999.9)
This parameter defines the desired thickness for the layer. The default for thisparameter is 0.000 Kang.
Material
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
This parameter defines the material for this layer. The layer material is selectedfrom the list of materials defined in View/Edit material. Therefore, you should
define all of the necessary materials for the process before defining the process.
See EDIT MATERIAL PASSWORD section 4.3.2.
To select a material, move the cursors to the material parameter for that layer andpress the Right-arrow key. The Select Layer Material screen will be displayed asshown below. Scroll to the desired material and press Enter.
The layer material defaults to 'End Layer' meaning this layer marks the end of theprocess.

Select Layer Material:

to select material

01 >Cr
02 Au
03
04
05
06
07
08

<

↓

Figure 4-4 Select Layer Material screen
4.3.2

VIEW/EDIT MATERIAL

From the Main Menu, selecting View/Edit Material will present the SelectMaterial screen shown below.

Select Material:

10- Copy material- Delete material- View/Edit material

01 >Cr
02 Au
03
04
05
06
07
08

<

↓

Figure 4-5 Select Material screen
4.3.2.1 DEFINE A MATERIAL

Selecting a material for viewing and/or editing will present the screen which
permits the material to be defined, shows the first page of this screen. In thisscreen, you define all of the material parameters for the selected material. The
material parameters are described in detail below.

4-16 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Material Name:>Cr
Source1
Pocket1
Density
07.20
Acoustic Impedance 28.95
Tooling Factor
070.0
Proportional Gain
1000
Integral Time
99.9<

gm/cm^3
gm/cm^2/sec%↓

Figure 4-6 Define Material screen
1. Material Name (A ten character material name)
The material name parameter allows you to either use the keypad to type in a
name, or pick a name from the materials already stored in the material library.
To pick a material from the material library, move the cursor to the material
parameter and press the Right-arrow key. This will display a complete list of
materials that are stored in the MDC-370. To pick a material, move the cursor
onto that material and press Enter key. Once a material is chosen, the stored
values for the density and acoustic impedance for that material are automaticallyentered into their respective parameters.
2. Source# (1 to 6)
This parameter defines the source output number that will be used for thismaterial, and cannot be greater than the number of source outputs fitted to thecontroller. The default setting is 1.
3. Pocket# (1 to 8)
This parameter defines the pocket number that contains this material. Thisparameter cannot be greater than the Number Of Pockets parameter in the Source
Setup screen. The default setting is 1.
4. Density (0.80 to 99.99 gm/cm3)
This parameter provides the material density so that the controller can calculate
and display the physical film thickness. If the film density is known it should be
used. A list of the more commonly used film densities is presented in Table 10-1.
As a first approximation, bulk material density can be used in programming.
Empirical calibration of this parameter is described in Section 10.6.1.
5. Acoustic Impedance (0.50 to 59.99 gm/cm2/sec)
This parameter is the acoustic impedance of the material. The acoustic
impedance of the deposited film is required by the MDC-370 in order toaccurately establish the sensor scale factor when the sensor crystal is heavily
loaded. If the acoustic impedance of the film material is known, it can be entereddirectly in units of 105 gm/cm2 sec. In most cases the acoustic impedance of the
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

4-17

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
bulk material can be used and can be obtained from The Handbook of Physics orother source of acoustic data. The shear wave impedance should be used. The
shear wave acoustic impedance can be calculated from the shear modulus or the
shear wave velocity and the density by using the following equation:
Where:

AI = ρ ⋅ C =ρ ⋅G

AI= Acoustic Impedance

ρ = Density (gm/cm3)
C= Transverse (shear) wave velocity (cm/sec)
G= Shear Modulus (dynes/cm2).
A list of the acoustic impedance and density of the more commonly depositedmaterials is presented in Table 10-1 and a technique for empirically determining
this parameter is presented in Section 10.6.3.
In many cases and particularly if the sensor crystal is not heavily loaded,sufficient accuracy can be achieved by using the acoustic impedance of quartz
which is 8.83 X 105 gm/cm2 sec.
6. Tooling Factor (10.0 to 499.9%)This parameter is the tooling factor for the average rate and thickness
measurements. Typically this parameter is left at the default setting of 100%
because each sensor has a tooling factor that is used to compensate for geometricfactors in the deposition system which result in a difference between thedeposition rate on the substrates and the rate on the sensing crystal. However, thisparameter might be used to compensate for any changes in the system that affects
all sensor heads equally.
Empirical calibration of the tooling factor is described in Section 10.6.2.
7. Proportional Gain (0 to 9999)
This parameter is the proportional gain factor for the source power control loop.
Control loop tuning is covered in Section 6-1.
8. Integral Time constant (0 to 99.9 sec)
This parameter is the system time constant. Control loop tuning is covered in
Section 6-1.
9. Derivative Time constant (0 to 99.9 sec)
This parameter is the system dead time. Control loop tuning is covered in Section
6-1.
10. Rise To Soak Time (0 to 9:59:59)

4-18 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
This parameter sets the time interval for the source power to ramp up from zero to
the power level set in Soak Power parameter. It should be long enough for thematerial to have time to reach equilibrium temperature without spitting, or in thecase of evaporation sources, protected from unnecessary thermal shock.
11. Soak Power (0.0-99.9%)This parameter defines the source power level during the Soak state. The Soak
Power should be established at a level which will assure that the source material isproperly outgassed and prepared for subsequent deposition.
12. Soak Time (0 to 9:59:59)
The Soak Time parameter defines the time duration of the Soak state. It is used inconjunction with the Soak Power to allow the material to fully outgas.
13. Rise To Predeposit (0 to 9:59:59)
This parameter sets the time interval for the source power to ramp from Soak
Power level to the Predeposit Power.
14. Predeposit Power (0.0 to 99.9%)This parameter defines the source power level during the Predeposit state. Thisshould be set as close as possible to the power level required to reach the desired
deposition rate. The Manual mode can be used to conveniently determine theSoak and Predeposit power levels of a particular material.
15. Predeposit Time (0 to 9:59:59)
This parameter defines the time duration of the Predeposit state. The Predeposit
Time should be established at a value which allows the source material to bebrought to the deposit temperature level and stabilized in an orderly manner.
Since evaporation will normally occur at the Predeposit power level, too long a
Predeposit Time will result in unnecessary buildup of material on the shutter andunnecessary material loss.
16. Rate Establish Time (0 to 99 seconds)
This parameter defines the time limit of the rate establish state. The Rate
Establish state occurs before the deposit state and is used to establish the correctsource power before the source shutter is opened. In the rate establish state thecrystal shutter is opened, the source shutter is closed, and the controller iscontrolling source power to achieve the programmed rate within the Rate
Establish Error% for a period of 5 seconds. Once the rate has been held within
limit for 5 seconds, the controller will go into the deposit state. If the rate error
cannot be held within the allowed percentage error for 5 seconds, then thecontroller will display a Rate Establish Error and the process will be halted.
For the Rate Establish function to work, the sensor must be located somewhere in
the vapor stream of the source while the source shutter is closed. The default
setting for this parameter is 0, which disables this function.
17. Rate Establish Err% (0 to 99%)

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
This parameter sets a maximum limit for the rate establish error, which must not
be exceeded for a five-second period during the rate establish state, in order forthe controller to enter the deposit state.
18. Deposit Rate #1 (0.0 to 999.9 Å/sec)
This parameter defines the first deposition rate.
19. Ramp Start Thk #1-4 (0 to 100%)
This parameter sets the layer thickness percentage that will trigger the start of arate ramp. The MDC-370 supports four rate ramp. The following Ramp Stop Thk
parameter sets the layer thickness percentage for the end of the rate ramp.
Finally, the next Deposit Rate parameter sets the deposition rate until either theend of the layer or the beginning of the next rate ramp.
A setting of 100% disables the rate ramp function. Please note that all the Ramp
Start Thk parameters can also be used as thickness setpoints for triggering I/O
events without using the ramping feature. For example, if you wanted to trigger
an event after 10% of the layer, your would set the Ramp Start Thk = 10%, Ramp
Stop Thk = 10% and the next Deposit Rate equal to the first deposit rate. Then
you would use the Deposit #2 State condition in the output's or action's condition
string that you wanted to trigger.
20. Ramp Stop Thk #1-4 (0 to 100%)
This parameter defines the layer thickness percentage that will trigger the end of arate ramp. This parameter will not be displayed if this feature is disabled basedon the settings of the prior parameter.
21. Deposit Rate #2-5 (0.0 to 999.9 Å/sec)
This parameter defines the target rate that will follow the prior rate ramp. Thisrate will continue until either the end of the layer or the beginning of the next rate
ramp. This parameter will not be displayed if this feature is disabled based on thesettings of the prior parameters.
22. Time Setpoint (0 to 9:59:59)
This parameter defines the time from the start of the layer until the time setpoint
event is triggered.
23. Ramp To Feed Time (0 to 9:59:59)
This parameter defines the time allowed for the source power to go from the lastdeposition power to the Feed Power. The default for this parameter is zero.
24. Feed Power (00.0 to 99.9%)
The Feed Power parameter defines the source power level during the feed state.
25. Feed Time (0 to 9:59:59)
The Feed Time parameter sets the feed time. This parameter can also be used as adelay between the Deposit State and the idle state. The default for this parameteris zero which disables the feed function.

4-20 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
26. Ramp To Idle Time (0 to 9:59:59)
This parameter defines the time allowed for the source power to go from the lastdeposition power or feed power to the Idle Power. The default for this parameteris zero.
27. Idle Power (00.0 to 99.9%)This parameter defines the source power after the feed or deposit states until thenext Soak or abort state. If the idle power is greater than zero then the next layerusing this source and pocket will start from the Predeposit state. If any
subsequent layer uses the same source but a different pocket, the idle power will
be automatically set to zero.
28. Maximum Power (00.0 to 99.9%)
The maximum power parameter sets the maximum allowable source power forthis material. The deposition power will not be allowed to exceed this value.
29. Power Alarm Delay (0 to 99)
This parameter sets the time required for the deposit power to be at Maximum or
Minimum power before the alarm will be triggered.
30. Minimum Power (00.0 to 99.9%)This parameter sets the minimum power level for the minimum power warnings.
If the power is at or below this level during a deposit a Minimum Power attention
warning will be given. If this condition remains true for longer than the time set
by the Power Alarm Delay parameter then a Minimum Power Alert warning will
be given.
31. Rate Dev. Attention (00.0 to 99.9%)
The rate deviation attention parameter sets the allowable percent deviation fromthe deposition rate. If the deposition rate deviates by more than this percentage
during the deposition, than a rate deviation attention message will be displayed in
the Parameter/Status display. The default setting of 00.0% disables this function.
32. Rate Dev. Alarm (00.0 to 99.9%)This parameter sets the percent deviation from the deposition rate required totrigger a rate deviation alarm. The default setting of 00.0% disables this function.
33. Rate Dev. Abort (00.0 to 99.9%)
The rate deviation abort parameter sets the allowable percent deviation from thedeposition rate. If the deposition rate deviates by more than this percentage andthe deposit power is at the maximum or minimum power alert level then theprocess will be aborted. The default setting of 00.0% disables this function.
34. Sample Dwell% (000.0 to 100.0)
The Sample Dwell% parameter establishes the percentage of the Sample Time forwhich the crystal is being sampled. Rate sampling is used for high deposition
thickness where crystal life is a problem. By sampling the rate periodically andsetting the power level to establish rate control, then closing the crystal shutter
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

4-21

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
and maintaining the power level, a large deposition thickness can be achieved
with one crystal. The primary sensor must have an individual shutter for the rate
sample feature. The default for this parameter is 100% which enables sampling at
all times.
35. Sample Period (0 to 9:59:59)
The Sample Period parameter defines the sample period. For example, a sample
time of 5 minutes and a dwell of 40% will result in the crystal being sampled for 2
minutes, then the crystal shutter is automatically closed for the remaining 3
minutes while the deposition power is kept constant. Please note, once the crystal
shutter has opened, there is a 5-second delay for crystal stabilization before
measuring. This parameter will not be displayed if this feature is disabled basedon the settings of the prior parameter.
36. Configure Sensors
Pressing the right arrow key from this point will bring you to the Configure
Sensors screen. In this screen you define which sensors are measured, the toolingfactors, etc. The following is a list the Configure Sensors parameters:a. Tooling (10.0 to 499.9%)This parameter sets the tooling factor for a particular sensor which is used tocompensate for geometric factors in the deposition system which result in adifference between the deposition rate on the substrates and the rate on thesensing crystal. This parameter is entered in percent units and 100% corresponds
to equal rates at the substrate and at the sensing crystal. To a first approximation
the tooling factor can be calculated using the following equation:

 dc 
Tooling % =   ⋅ 100
 ds 
2where:
dc= Distance from source to crystal.
ds= Distance from source to substrate.
Empirical calibration of the tooling factor is described in Section 10.6.2.
b. Weight (10.0 to 499.9)
This parameter sets the weight factor for a particular sensor. The Weight factor isused to adjust the effect a sensor has on the average rate. Each sensor's affect on
the average rate is ratio of the sensor's weight divided by the total weight for all
enabled sensors. This parameter is irrelevant when only one sensor is enabled formeasurement. The default for this parameter is 100.0
c. Crystal Fail (NotUsed, Disable, HltLast, Halt, TimePwr, Switch)

4-22 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
This parameter defines how this sensor will be used and what the 370 will do if
this sensor/crystal should fail during a deposit. The available options are as
follows:
1. Not Used - The sensor is not used for this material but may be used as a
backup sensor. If used as a backup and it fails, then it will be put into thesensor auto complete mode until the end of the layer. In sensor autocomplete mode, the last measure rate for the sensor is used in the averagerate and thickness calculation until the layer is complete. The 370 willenter the Time Power mode if this sensor if the last to fail.
2. Disable - The sensor is enabled for measurement. The sensor will be
removed from the average measurement if it fails. The 370 will halt theprocess if this is the last sensor to fail.
3. HaltLast - The sensor is enabled for measurement. The sensor will be put
into sensor auto complete if it fails and the process will be halted if it is
the last sensor to fail.
4. Halt - The sensor is enabled for measurement but the process will behalted if this sensor fails.
5. TimePwr - The sensor is enabled for measurement. The sensor will be put
into sensor auto complete if it fails and the 370 will enter the Time Power
Mode if it is the last sensor to fail.
6. Switch - The sensor is enabled for measurement. The 370 will switch to a
backup crystal/sensor if it fails. The Bkup Snsr and Bkup Xtal parameters
set the backup sensor/crystal that the 370 will switch to.
Use the Enter key to cycle between these available options.
d. Xtal (0 to 8)
This parameter sets the primary crystal number for this sensor. This parameter isused with multiple crystal sensor heads. This parameter cannot be greater thanthe Number of Crystals setting for this sensor in the Sensor Setup screen. . The
default setting is 1.
e. Backup Sensor (1 to 6)
This parameter sets the backup sensor input number for this sensor. For a dual
sensor head, this parameter is set to 2 assuming sensor #1 is the primary sensor.
However, for six crystal sensor head, this parameter should be the same as thesensor # and the Backup Xtal # parameter below would be set to two. This isbecause the six crystal sensor head uses only one sensor input to measure any of
its six crystals while the dual sensor head uses two sensor inputs to measure either
crystal.
f. Backup Xtal (1 to 8)
This parameter sets the backup crystal number for the backup sensor.
37. Calibrate Sensors

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

4-23

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Pressing the right arrow key from this point will bring you to the Calibrate
Sensors screen. In this screen you initiate a sensor tooling factor calibration run
as described in section 10.6.2
38. Material Password (4 digit string)This parameter defines the edit password for the material. If the password is set
to anything other than 0000 it will not be displayed, and when you attempt to edit
the material you will first be asked to enter the correct password.
4.3.3

SYSTEM SETUP

Choosing the Edit System Setup option from the Main Menu screen will present
the System Setup Menu options as shown in Figure 4-7. These options allow for
setting up the controller to interface with the vacuum system and are described
below.

System Setup:>Edit Display Setup<
Program Inputs
Program Outputs
Program Actions
Edit Sensor Setup
Edit Source Setup
Edit DAC Setup
Edit Utility Setup

Figure 4-7 System Setup Menu screen
4.3.3.1 EDIT DISPLAY SETUP

Selecting Edit Display Setup will present the Display Setup screen.

Display Setup
Pause On Layer Complete>Yes<
Display Negatives
EnabledThickness Graph Scale
3-digitSensor Status
Thickness
Time Display
Estimated Layer
Rate Graph
Disabled
Power Graph
Enabled ↓Figure 4-8 Display Setup Screen
1. Pause On Layer Complete (Yes or No)

4-24 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
This parameter determines whether the controller will pause between layers. If
this parameter is set to Yes then the controller will stop on layer complete andwait for a Start key press from the operator. If this parameter is set to No then thecontroller will automatically increment to the next layer.
2. Display Negatives (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the 370 will display negative rates and thickness
or not. If set to disable, the 370 will hold negative values at zero. The default forthis parameters is Disabled.
3. Thickness Graph Scale (2-digit, 3-digit)
This parameter defines whether the rightmost 2 or 3 digits of thickness will begraphed effectively setting the graph range at either 100 or 1000Å.
4. Sensor Status (Thickness, Frequency)
This parameter determines the value displayed in the Sensor Status screen. The
available options are sensor Thickness or Frequency.
5. Time Display (Estimated State, Layer time or Elapsed Process, Layer or State
time)
This parameter sets the displayed value in the Time display on the front panel.
The choices are estimated state or layer time, or the elapsed process, layer or statetime.
6. Rate Graph (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the rate verses time graph is enabled as one of thestatus screens.
7. Power Graph (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the power verses time graph is enabled as one of
the status screens.
8. Thickness Graph (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the thickness verses time graph is enabled as oneof the status screens.
9. Rate Dev. Graph (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the rate deviation verses time graph is enabled as
one of the status screens.
10. Source/Sensor Status (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the source/sensor status screen is enabled as oneof the status screens.
11. I/O Status (Enabled, Disabled)
This parameter defines whether the I/O status screen is enabled as one of thestatus screens.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Note, if all six status screens are disabled, the Rate Vs. Time Graph will be
displayed when the Status key is pressed.
4.3.3.2 PROGRAM INPUTS

The controller has ‘logical’ discrete inputs which are used when running aprocess, and ‘physical’ discrete inputs at the rear-panel connector pins which canbe associated arbitrarily by the user with the logical inputs using the Edit Program
Inputs function. By itself a user defined input has no effect, it can only be usefulwhen its logical state is used as a condition for an internal action, or an external
action represented by the state of a discrete output.
The controller provides for a maximum of 16 logical inputs. The 16 logicalinputs can be associated with up to 8 physical inputs with the single I/O card
provided with the basic controller, and with up to 16 physical inputs if the second
optional I/O card is installed.
A logical input (01 to 16) can be given a 16-digit name, and can be associatedwith a physical input by identifying the I/O card (1 or 2) and connector pin
number (30 to 37, each of which also has a separate pin for the signal return
which is displayed to the right of the Pin#). The input’s true level can also be
defined for each input. An input defined as High true will be true when the
input’s voltage is at or above the high level for the particular I/O card installed.
The MDC-370 has two types of I/O cards available. The Passive I/O card, PN#
179206, has TTL level (0 to 5 volt DC) inputs. The Passive inputs are pulled up
to 5 volts internally through a 4.7 K OHM resister and are set true, assuming the
input’s True level is set to Low, by shorting the input pins together. The Active
I/O card, PN# 179239, has 12 to 120 volt AC/DC inputs. The Active inputs are
set true, assuming the input’s true level is set to High, by supplying 12 to 120 volt
AC or DC across the input pins. Both cards have the same relay outputs.
Use the Main Menu, Edit System Setup, Program Inputs to display the logicalinputs, and the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys to select the logical input. The
Left-arrow and Right-arrow keys select the Input Name, True level, Card# andPin# edit fields. A 16-digit name can be assigned to the logical input. Pressing
the Enter key on the True level column will toggle between High or Low true.
Any entry other than 1 or 2 will be ignored for the Card#, as will a Pin# less than
30 or greater than 37.
The logical discrete inputs have two categories. One category contains logicalinputs that are named and assigned by the user, the other category contains logicalinputs that are automatically defined by the controller, such as those required forsource and sensor position feedback, and these cannot be changed by the user.
When the controller defines inputs, it selects the blank names remaining in the
logical input list and assigns them in sequence to the internally generatedfunctions. For this reason, it is important that unused inputs are left blank, andthat there are sufficient inputs for all required functions.
4-26 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Inputs that are internally defined are discussed further in the source/sensor setup
sections. Table 8-4 lists the input pin numbers.

Input
Input Name
1 >External Start
2
Deposit pressure
3Over Pressure
4
Optical Monitor
5
6
7

True Card
< Low
1
High
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
1

Pin-Ret
30 12
31 13
32 14
33 15
34 16
35 17
36 18 ↓

4.3.3.3 PROGRAM OUTPUTS

The controller has ‘logical’ discrete outputs which are used when running aprocess, and ‘physical’ discrete outputs which can be associated arbitrarily by theuser with the logical outputs using the Program Outputs function. Each physicaldiscrete output is in the form of a pair of relay contacts assigned to dedicated pins
on a controller back-panel connector, and these contacts will close when a thelogical discrete output associated with the physical output satisfies a set of
conditions defined by the user which are evaluated every 100 ms.
The controller provides for a maximum of 16 logical outputs. The 16 logical
outputs can be associated with up to 8 physical outputs with the single I/O card
provided with the basic controller, and with up to 16 physical outputs if thesecond optional I/O card is installed. Additionally, the controller has a relay
output which is dedicated to the Abort function.
Use the Main Menu, Edit System Setup, Program Outputs to display the logical
outputs, and the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys to select the logical output.
A logical output (01 to 16) can be given a 16-digit name, and can be associatedwith a physical output by identifying the I/O card (1 or 2) and connector pin
number (2 to 9, paired with 21 to 28, respectively, for the relay contacts).
The logical discrete outputs have two categories. One category contains logical
outputs that are named and assigned by the user, the other category contains
logical outputs that are automatically defined by the controller, such as thoserequired for source and sensor rotator controls, and these cannot be changed by
the user. These internally defined outputs are indicated by a condition stringlabeled “Internally Defined”
When the controller defines outputs, it selects the blank names remaining in the
logical output list and assigns them in sequence to the internally generatedfunctions. For this reason, it is important that unused outputs are left blank, andthat there are sufficient outputs for all required functions. Outputs that areinternally defined are discussed further in the source/sensor setup sections.
Table 8-4 lists the output pin numbers.
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Two screens are required to program the Discrete outputs. The first screen
provides for selecting the output to be programmed, while the second screen
provides for the actual programming, including the output name.
Selecting Program Outputs from the System Setup menu will present the SelectOutput screen.

Select Output:

to select

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

>End of Process
Wire feed Al
Layer Complete
Procs Complete<↓

Figure 4-9 Select Output screen
Selecting an output with the Right-arrow or Enter key will present the screen
which permits definition of the output, as shown below.
The Left-arrow, Right-arrow, Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys provide access to
the Output Name, card#, pin# and Condition string edit fields. A 16-digit namecan be assigned to the logical input. Any entry other than 1 or 2 will be ignored
for the card#, as will a pin# less than 2 or greater than 9.

Output Name: Wire Feed Al
Conditions :> Al & FeedHold

Card#
1

Pin#-Rt
2
21<
Valid operators: 1=!, 2=(, 3=), 4=&, 5=|
Press 0 for conditions,
to validate.

Figure 4-10 Program Output Screen
The output condition string is a logical statement that determines the state of theoutput. The output relay is closed when the condition string is evaluated as true.
Otherwise, the relay is open. Each output condition string is evaluated ten times
per second (every 100 milliseconds).
4.3.3.3.1

ENTERING A CONDITION STRING

4-28 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
A condition string comprises one or more individual conditions linked together by
the logical operators ! NOT, & AND, | OR and parentheses ( ). Conditions arechosen from a list. To enter a condition string correctly you must follow theserules:
There must be an equal number of closed and open parentheses.
All conditions must be separated by either the & or the | operator.
Condition strings cannot end in an operator.
To enter a condition string, first move the markers onto the condition string field.
The second line from the bottom of the screen displays the valid operators andparentheses. The screen symbols will change depending on the contents of thecondition string to the left of the cursor. To select a symbol, press thecorresponding key number. In the example displayed, the bottom line tells youthat you press the “0” key to select a condition or, the Enter key to finish andvalidate the string. A blank condition string is evaluated as false.
While entering the condition string, pressing the “0” key will present a screen
which has a list of condition types at the left side. For the chosen type, the righthand side of the screen displays a list of sub-conditions or a number entry field.
Example:If you move the marker of the left column onto the State condition type, a list of
all the possible states will appear in the right column. To select one of the states,press the right arrow key to move the marker to the right column. You then moveonto the desired state and press enter. This will return you to the previous screen
and add the selected state to the condition string. You can return to the left
column without selecting a state by pressing the Left-arrow key.

Condition
Type:>StateEvent
Input
OutputProcess
Material
SourcePocket< >Process Ready<
Start Layer
Change Pocket
Change Crystal
Layer Ready
Soak Rise
Soak Hold
Predeposit Rise↓

Example:If you move the marker of the left column onto the Layer condition type, anumber field will appear in the right column. To select layer #5, press the Rightarrow key to move the marker to the right column. You then type the number 5
and press Enter.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Condition
Type:

4.3.3.3.2

Process
Material
SourcePocketSoftnode
SensorSnsrXtal
Layer

Number: >005<

CONDITION TYPES

States - State conditions are evaluated true whenever the controller is in therespective state. Controller States are:Process Ready
Start Layer
Change Pocket
Change Crystal
Layer Ready
Soak Rise
Soak Hold
Predeposit Rise
Predeposit Hold
Establish Rate
Deposit 1
Rate Ramp 1
Deposit 2
Rate Ramp 2
Deposit 3
Rate Ramp 3
Deposit 4
Rate Ramp 4
Deposit 5
Ramp To Feed
Feed

4-30 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Ramp To Idle
Layer Complete
Process Complete
Process Resume
Events - Event conditions are evaluated true whenever the respective event istrue. Controller Events are:
Abort
Halt
Hold
Time PowerReady
In Process
Simulate
Time Setpoint
Last Layer
Crystal Failure
Crystal Marginal
Min Rate&Max Pwr
Max Rate&Min Pwr
Rate Dev. Alarm
Rate Est. Error
Source Fault
Sensor Fault
Rate Dev. Alert
Max. Power Alert
Min Power Alert
Rate Dev. Atten.
Max Power Atten.
Min Power Atten.
Inputs - Input conditions are represented by the user defined programmable
inputs. A condition is either true or false depending on the state of the input.
Input conditions are used to indicate the state of something external to the 370.
For example, you may want to program the 370 to wait for a certain pressure
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
before starting a deposit. In this case you would create an input called something
like "At Pressure" and you would connect this input to a pressure setpoint output
of a vacuum gage. Next, you would create a Hold In State action that would
cause the 370 to hold in a state prior to deposit until the "At Pressure" input goestrue.
Outputs - Output conditions are represented by the user defined programmable
outputs. A condition is either true or false depending on the state of the output's
total condition string.
Process - The process condition is evaluated true whenever the selected process isthe current process.
Material - The material condition is evaluated true whenever the selectedmaterial is the current material.
Source (1-6) - The source condition is evaluated true whenever the current source
equals the specified source.
Pocket (1-8) - The pocket condition is evaluated true whenever the current pocket
equals the specified pocket.
Softnode (1-8) - Each Softnode defaults to false but can be set to true by a "SetSoft Node" Action. Softnodes allow the user to link many action condition
strings together to trigger another action or output.
Sensor (1-6) - The sensor condition is evaluated true whenever the current sensor
equals the specified sensor.
SnsrXtal(1-6,1-8) - The Sensor/Xtal condition is evaluated true whenever the
specified crystal of the specified sensor is active. The leftmost digit is the sensor#
and the rightmost digit is the crystal#.
Layer (1-999) - The layer condition is evaluated true whenever the current layer#
equals the specified layer#.
Timer < (1-65,534 seconds) - The MDC-370 has eight internal counters that canbe used as conditions to trigger outputs or actions. The timer condition isevaluated true whenever the timer's value is less than the value entered in thetimer condition. A timer can be reset to zero using a Start Timer Action. Once
reset, a timer will count up to its maximum value and stay there until it is reset
again. Timers are typically used to trigger an output for a set amount of time after
a certain event or state has occurred. For example, if you wanted to turn on an ion
gun for the first 3 minutes of deposition, you would first create an output called"Ion Gun Power" with the condition "!Timer1<1&Timer1<181". This condition
says that this output will be true whenever timer1 is greater than 1 and less than
181 seconds. The next step is to create an action to reset the timer in the state
before deposit. Select the "Start Timer #1" action and enter the conditions"Predeposit Hold". The 370 will continually reset timer #1 (set to zero) while it isin the Predeposit Hold state then one second after it enters the deposit state, the"Ion Gun Power" output will go true for 180 seconds or three minutes.

4-32 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
4.3.3.4 PROGRAM ACTIONSThe MDC-370 provides for 16 internal user programmable actions. Internal
actions are used to provide special functions at the true evaluation of a condition
string. These functions may be such things as terminating a deposit on an input
from an optical monitor. Or, sounding an alarm when certain events are true.
To program an action, first select the desired action from the list of 16
programmable actions displayed in the Actions screen.

Actions:

to select action

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

Hold In State
Step From StateSound Attention
Sound Alert
Sound Alarm> No Action<
No Action
No Action↓

Once you have selected the required action, pressing the Right-arrow key will
present the screen which permits programming of the action details, and thisprocedure is similar to the one used for programming discrete outputs.

Action Name:
Conditions :><Valid operators: 1=!, 2=(, 3=), 4=&, 5=|0= Add condition,
to save

In this screen you select the predefined action you would like to take and theassociated conditions. To specify an action, move the markers onto the action
name field and press the Right-arrow key. This will present the Select Defined
Action screen.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Select Defined Action:

to select

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

>No Action<
Manual Power
Zero Thickness
Reset Controller
Abort Process
Halt Process
TerminateDeposit
Hold In State↓In this screen you can select a predefined action from the list by moving the
cursors onto the desired action and pressing Enter. The following is a list of thepredefined actions:
No Action - No action is taken. The default setting.
Manual - Functionally identical to pressing Manual key.
Zero - Functionally identical to pressing Zero key.
Reset - Functionally identical to pressing Reset key.
Abort - Functionally identical to pressing Abort key.
Halt - Halts the process, sets active source power to idle, and leaves all othersource powers unchanged.
Terminate Deposit - Triggers the final thickness for the deposit state. Action is
ignored if state is not a deposit state.
Hold In State - Holds controller in current state.
Step From State - Steps controller to next state.
Sound Attention - Triggers the attention sound and displays the "Attention
Action" message in the State/Trouble field in the Parameter/Status display.
Sound Alert - Triggers the Alert sound and displays the "Alert Action" message
in the State/Trouble field in the Parameter/Status display.
Sound Alarm - Triggers the Alarm sound and displays the message "Alarm
Action" in the State/Trouble field of the Parameter/Status display.
Start Process - Trigger the start of the currently selected process. This action is
ignored unless the controller is in the Process Ready state.
Select Process 1-8 - Select process #1-8 as the next process to be started by theStart Process action described above.
Switch Crystals - Toggles between the primary and the backup sensor/crystal
combination defined by the active material. The first sensor/crystal will beswitched if more than one sensor/crystal combinations are enabled formeasurement.

4-34 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Once the action is selected then you need to establish when the action should takeplace by defining its condition string. This is covered in the earlier section called
Entering a Condition String.
Start Timer 1-8 - Start timer#1-8 as the next process to be started by the Start
Process action described above.

4.3.3.5 EDIT SENSOR SETUP

Selecting Edit Sensor Setup will present the Sensor Setup screen shown in Figure4-11. In this screen you define the sensor parameters that the controller needs tointerface to the various types of sensors. Once the sensor setup is complete, thecontroller will create the necessary inputs and outputs needed to interface to thedefined sensors. To define a sensor, first select the sensor number by using the
Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys to position the cursor on the desired sensor
number. Once selected, the sensor is configured by selecting the appropriate
parameters from the right half of the display:

Sensor Setup:>Sensor #1<
Sensor #2
Sensor #3
Sensor #4
Sensor #5
Sensor #6

Number of Crystals
6
Shutter Relay TypeN.O.
ControlManualDrive
Up
Feedback TypeNo Feedback
Rotator Delay(sec)00

Figure 4-11 Sensor Setup Screen
1. Number of crystals (1 to 8)
This parameter defines the number of crystals available for that sensor input. Fora single sensor head this would be set to one. For a dual sensor head withseparate oscillators and sensor connections, this would still be set to one because
there is only one crystal for each sensor input. For a multiple rotary type sensor
head, this parameter would be set to the number of crystals that the sensor willhold.
2. Shutter Relay type (N.O., N.C., None, Dual)This parameter defines the shutter relay type used to control the sensor shutter.
The following four relay types are available:
N.O. - Relay is normally open and closes to close shutter. For this type, a“SensorN Shutter” output will be created to interface to the shutter actuator.
N.C. - Relay is normally closed and opens to close shutter. For this type, a“SensorN Shutter” output will be created to interface to the shutter actuator.
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
None - No sensor shutter output is created.
Dual - Select this type for a dual sensor head. For this type, a “Dual Snsr1&2
Shtr” output will be created to interface to the shutter actuator.
3. Control (Manual, Direct, BCD, Indiv)
This parameter defines the type of crystal position control utilized.
Manual, as it implies, means not under control of the MDC-370. Under manualcontrol, the MDC-370 will stop the process upon the completion of the current
layer when the next layer requires a different crystal position. A message
prompting the operator with the number of the crystal required is displayed in the
Parameter/Status window. Once the crystal has been changed, the process isresumed by pressing the Start key.
BCD and Indiv are used when control is through an external crystal rotation
controller which accepts Binary Coded Decimal inputs or Individual switch
closures to select the crystal. The controller creates the number of outputs
required to interface with the external controller and set the outputs as required tosignal a crystal
Direct is used when the actuating device is driven directly. In this case thecontroller creates one or two outputs, one for each available direction, to drive a
motor or solenoid.
4. Drive (Up, Down, Fast, Inline, Sngl Step, Dbl Step)
This parameter defines the drive method or direction for Direct control and only
has an effect when Control type is set to Direct. The different settings aredescribed below.
Up, Down, Fast and Inline - These four settings are typically used with multicrystal heads that use a motor to rotate the crystals into position. With Up
selected, the controller will create one output called "SensorN Drive Up". The
370 will activate this output to increment the sensor head up to the next
position. The down selection works the same except the output is called"SensorN Drive Dn". With Fast selected, the controller will create both an up
and a down output. The 370 will then determine the fastest direction to thetarget crystal position by activating the appropriate output. The Inline drive
type informs the controller that continuous travel in one direction is notpossible. Therefor to get from position 6 to 1, the direction must be down
through 5, 4, etc. until 1 is reached.
SnglStep and Dbl Step - Both the SnglStep and Dbl Step settings are typicallyused with multi-crystal sensor heads that are actuated by pulsing a pneumatic
valve. The 370 will create a "SensorX Drive Up" which is either singly or
doubly pulsed to sequentially step the sensor head to the next position.
5. Feedback Type (Individual, BCD, Single Home, In Position, No Feedback)This parameter defines the type of feedback for a multiple sensor head. The threefeedback types available are as follows:

4-36 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Individual - Individual position feedback. This feedback type uses one input
for each crystal position in the sensor head. All inputs are normally false(open circuit) unless that crystal is in position then that input is true (closed to
ground). For example, a six crystal sensor head would use six inputs. If
crystal two was in position then all the inputs would be false except the input
connected to feedback position number two.
BCD
- Binary Coded Decimal position feedback. This feedback typeuses binary coding to indicate which crystal is in position. Inputs arenumbered most significant bit first. For example, an eight crystal sensor head
would use three inputs. With crystal one in position, all inputs would be false.
With crystal four in position, inputs one and two would be true and input threewould be false.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Table of Input states for BCD feedback type.
Crystalnumber

Input
BCD2

Input
BCD1

Input
BCD0

1

OPEN

OPEN

OPEN

2

OPEN

OPEN

GND

3

OPEN

GND

OPEN

4

OPEN

GND

GND

5

GND

OPEN

OPEN

6

GND

OPEN

GND

7

GND

GND

OPEN

8

GND

GND

GND

SNGL HOME - Single home position feedback. This feedback type uses one
input. The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true (closed to
ground) when crystal one is in position.
IN POSITION - In position feedback. This feedback type uses one input.
The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true (closed to
ground) when the desired crystal is in position.
NO FEEDBACK - No crystal position feedback is used.
6. Rotator Delay (0 to 99 seconds)
This parameter serves two different functions. If the feedback type is “None”(Not recommended. See cautions in the Installation section.), this parameter tells
the controller how long to wait assuming the crystal is in position. If position
feedback is provided, this parameter tells the controller how long it should wait
for the crystal to reach its target position before it issues a Sensor Fault message.
4.3.3.6 EDIT SOURCE SETUP

Selecting Edit Source Setup will present the Source Setup screen as shown in
Figure 4-12. In this screen you first select the source setup you wish to edit. To
select a source, use the Up-arrow and Down-arrow keys, then press the Rightarrow or Enter key to select.

4-38 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Source Setup:>Source #1
Source #2
Source #3
Source #4
Source #5
Source #6

Number of Pockets
6
Shutter Relay TypeN.O.
Shutter Delay (sec)
0.0Control
DirectDrive
Up
Feedback Type
Individual
Pocket Delay (sec)10
Source Voltage
10V

Figure 4-12 Source Setup screen
Once selected, the source is configured with the following parameters located on
the right side of the display:
1. Number of Pockets (1 to 8)
This parameter defines the number of pockets, or crucibles, available for thesource. The default value is 1 for a single pocket source.
2. Shutter Relay type (N.O., N.C., None)
This parameter defines the shutter relay type used to control the source shutter.
The following three relay types are available:
N.O. - Relay is normally open and closes to close shutter. For this type, a“SourceN Shutter” output will be created to interface to the shutter actuator.
N.C. - Relay is normally closed and opens to close shutter. For this type, a“SourceN Shutter” output will be created to interface to the shutter actuator.
None - No sensor shutter output is created.
3. Shutter Delay (sec) (0.0 to 9.9 seconds)
This parameter defines the amount of time allowed for the source shutter to close.
4. Control (Manual, Direct, BCD, Indv)
This parameter defines the type of pocket control utilized.
Manual, as it implies, means not under control of the MDC-370. Under manualcontrol, the MDC-370 will stop the process upon the completion of the current
layer when the next layer requires a different pocket. A message prompting theoperator with the material required is displayed in the Parameter/Status window.
Once the pocket has been changed, the process is resumed by pressing the Start
key.
BCD and Indv are used when control is through an external pocket rotation
controller which accepts Binary Coded Decimal inputs or Individual switch
closures to select the pocket. The controller creates the number of outputs
required to interface with the external controller and sets the outputs as required
to signal a pocket change.
PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Direct is used when the actuating device is driven directly. In this case thecontroller sets up one or two outputs, one for each available direction, to drive a
motor or solenoid.
5. Drive (Up, Down, Fast, Inline, Sngl Step, Dbl Step)
When the Control type is Direct, this parameter defines the drive method or
direction. For Sngl Step and Dbl Step drive types, the controller sets up one
output which is either singly or doubly pulsed to actuate a solenoid to sequentiallystep the rotator to the desired position. For Up and Down drive types, thecontroller sets up one output to control a drive motor which is turned on until therotator reaches the desired position. For Fast and Inline drive types, the controller
sets up a drive up and a drive down output. For the Fast drive type, the controller
determines the fastest direction to the target pocket position and turns on theappropriate output. The Inline drive type informs the controller that continuous
travel in one direction is not possible. Therefore to get from position 6 to 1, thedirection must be down through 5, 4, etc. until 1 is reached.
The controller creates one or more of the following outputs depending on thetype:
Drive Up
Drive Down
Step
6. Feedback Type (Individual, BCD, Single Home, In Position, No Feedback)This parameter defines the type of feedback for a multiple pocket source. The
three feedback types available are as follows:
Individual - Individual position feedback. This feedback type uses one input
for each pocket position in the source. All inputs are normally false (opencircuit) unless the respective pocket is in position then that input is true(closed to ground). For example, a six-pocket source would use six inputs. If
pocket two was in position then all the inputs would be false except the input
connected to feedback position number two.
BCD
- Binary Coded Decimal position feedback. This feedback typeuses binary coding to indicate the pocket position. Inputs are numbered mostsignificant bit first. For example, an eight-pocket source would use three
inputs. With pocket one in position, all inputs would be false. With pocket
four in position, inputs one and two would be true and input three would be
false.
SNGL HOME - Single home position feedback. This feedback type uses one
input. The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true (closed to
ground) when pocket one is in position.
IN POSITION - In position feedback. This feedback type uses one input.
The input is normally false (open circuit) and should go true (closed to
ground) when the desired pocket is in position.
NO FEEDBACK - No pocket position feedback is used.
4-40 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Table of Input states for BCD feedback type.
PocketNumber

Input
BCD2

Input
BCD1

Input
BCD0

1

OPEN

OPEN

OPEN

2

OPEN

OPEN

GND

3

OPEN

GND

OPEN

4

OPEN

GND

GND

5

GND

OPEN

OPEN

6

GND

OPEN

GND

7

GND

GND

OPEN

8

GND

GND

GND

7. Rotator Delay (0 to 99 seconds)
This parameter serves two different functions. If the feedback type is “None”(Not recommended. See cautions in the Installation section) this parameter tells
the controller how long to wait, on the assumption the pocket will get into
position. If position feedback is provided, this parameter tells the controller how
long it should wait for the pocket to reach its target position before it issues a
Source Fault message.
8. Source Voltage (2.5V, 5.0V, 10V)
This parameter sets the upper voltage range for the source control output. The
lower voltage range is always 0. For example, selecting 10 for this parameter sets
the source control voltage range from 0 to 10 volts.
4.3.3.7 EDIT DAC SETUP

Selecting Edit DAC Setup from the Edit System Setup menu will present the
DAC Setup screen that allows selection of the parameter and its signal range foreach of the two DACs.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLERDAC Setup
DAC Output
DAC Scale
DAC Output
DAC Scale

#1
#1
#2
#2

>Rate
<
2 DigitPower
2 DigitFigure 4-13 DAC Setup Screen
1. DAC Output (Rate, Rate Dev., Power, Thickness)
One of four system control parameters is chosen for the DAC output. The default
setting is Rate for DAC #1 and Rate Deviation for DAC #2.
2. DAC Scale (2-digit, 3-digit)
Either the two least significant, or the three least significant, digits of the chosen
control parameter are used to represent full scale for the DAC output.
4.3.3.8 EDIT UTILITY SETUP

Selecting the Edit Utility Setup from the Edit System Setup menu will present the
Utility Setup screen. Figure 4-14 shows the first page of this screen. All
parameters are described below.

Utility Setup
Crystal Freq.
6.0 MHz
Simulate mode
On
Interface address
01 (1-32)
Attention Volume01 (0-10)
Alert Volume01 (0-10)
Alarm Volume01 (0-10)
Data Points/min
60 ppm↓Figure 4-14 Utility Setup screen
1. Xtal Freq. (2.5, 3.0, 5.0, 6.0, 9.0, 10.0 MHz)This parameter determines the uncoated crystal frequency type for all sensor
inputs. The default setting is 6.0 MHz.
2. Simulate Mode (On, Off)
This parameter enables or disables the Simulate mode of the controller. The
Simulate mode is used for process testing and differs from the Normal mode only
4-42 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
to the extent that the Thickness and Rate displays are derived from a simulated
sensor input rather that the actual sensor. While in this mode, the simulated
thickness build- up is directly proportional to the displayed power level andindependent of actual thickness on the sensor. The Simulate mode allows thetotal deposit process to be simulated. It also allows the tooling factor, density andacoustic impedance calculations to be conveniently checked and altered at the endof the run, if necessary.
3. Interface Address. (1-32)
This parameter sets the controller’s computer interface address for the RS-485
and IEEE-488 interfaces.
4. Attention Volume (0-10)This parameter sets the volume of audio attention sound. Attention sounds
indicate that the controller is waiting for an operator response or action before
continuing the process. A setting of zero disables audio attention sound.
5. Alert Volume (0-10)This parameter sets the volume of audio alert sound. Alert sounds indicate that amaterial alert level has been exceeded. A setting of zero disables audio alert
sounds.
6. Alarm Volume (0-10)This parameter sets the volume of audio alarm sound. Alarm sounds indicate thata material alarm level has been exceeded. A setting of zero disables audio alarmsounds.
7. Data Points/Min (30,60,120,300,600 PPM)This parameter sets the number of run-time data point sets per minute that will be
written to the process log. The default is 600 data points/minute. During aprocess, data is logged automatically up to 10 data point sets per minute. At thisrate the 27,000 data point storage can hold 45 minutes of data. To allow for
longer processes, you can change the number of data point sets stored per minute.
The following table shows the approximate storage time based on the number ofdata points per minute parameter. Press the ‘Enter’ key to cycle between options.
This parameter is only visible when the data logging option is installed.

PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUP

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MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Data Points/Minute
30
60
120
300
600

Approx. Storage Time(minutes)
900
450
225
90
45

8. Time (00:00-23:59)
This parameter sets the system time. Time is entered in 24-hour format without adigit separator “:”. For example, to enter 1:05 PM you must enter “1305”. Thisparameter is only visible when the data logging option is installed.
9. Date (01/01/00-12/31/99)
This parameter sets the system date in month/day/year format. The complete datemust be entered without the digit separator “/” character, and with two digits foreach of the month, day and year. For example, to enter 5/2/94, you must enter“050294”. This parameter is only visible when the data logging option is installed.

4-44 PROGRAMMING AND CONTROLLER SETUPMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

5.

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5.1
SIGN-ON SCREEN
At power-on the Parameter/Status display will present a screen which details thecontroller configuration, and all LEDs will be illuminated. The figure below
shows the configuration for a basic MDC-370 with a single Source/Sensor card, asingle Discrete I/O card and an RS-232 interface installed. Please refer to
Sections 2, 3 and 4 for a detailed description of the MDC-370 resources and how
to use them before attempting to operate the controller.
At this point, with the sign-on configuration information on the LCD screen andall LED’s illuminated, pressing any key momentarily will put the controller into
the Abort mode. Within the illuminated keypad group, only the red LED behind
the Abort key pad will now be illuminated. Each digit position of the process-run
numerical LEDs will contain a 0-9 value. The information displayed by the LCD
screen will depend on what was being displayed when power to the controller waslast turned off.
Press the Reset key to put the controller into the Reset state in preparation for aprocess-run.

Maxtek MDC-370 Software Version x.x
Source/Sensors Cards 1
Installed
Discrete I/O Cards
1
Installed
RS-232 Computer Interface
Installed
Data Log Storage
Not Installed
Press any key to continue.

Figure 5-1 Sign-on screen
5.2
STARTING A NEW PROCESS
Pressing the Start key while the controller is in the Ready state will present thescreen shown below. A run number is provided to help correlate process
information with a specific process run. The run number can range from 1 to9999. It is incremented at the start of each process. At 10,000 the run number
will roll over to 1.

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Start Process:Starting Layer:
Run Number
:

001
0001

Press Start to startor Reset to cancel.

01 >Sample
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

<

Figure 5-2 Run Process Selection Screen
From this screen you can change the starting layer number and run number, if
required, using the arrow keys to position the edit cursors, and can then select theprocess to start by positioning the cursors on the desired process name, whichthen becomes the ‘current’ process. To actually start the process, just press theStart key again. The controller will then scan the total process definition and thecondition of the system, and if everything appears to be in order will start theprocess.
If at this point an error message is presented by the LCD screen, it is likely that
there is a problem somewhere with either the system configuration and/or thevalue of a system parameter which will prevent the process from runningcorrectly. Use the details of the error message as an indication of the corrective
action that should be taken. Press the Abort key to abort the process start, then
the Reset key, and then make the necessary changes.
5.3
STARTING A NEW LAYER
The Start key is also used to start individual layers when the controller is set up
for manual layer sequencing. The controller will prompt the operator to press theStart key to start the next layer.
5.4
RESUMING AN ABORTED OR HALTED PROCESSThe Start key is also used to resume an aborted or halted process. Pressing theStart key while the controller is in abort or halt mode will bring up the following
prompt. Note that the green LED behind the Start key is illuminated, indicatingthat the process can be resumed. Otherwise, the controller has to be reset, and theprocess has to be started over.
Press Start to resume process
or Reset to cancel.
Follow the prompt to resume the process.

5-2

OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5.5
GRAPH DISPLAYS
There are four different run time graph screens that can be displayed at any timeby pressing the Graph key (providing they have each been enabled in the Edit
Display Setup menu). The first key press will bring up the last viewed graphscreen, repeatedly pressing the Graph key will cycle through the four graphscreens, shown below.
Displays the current
material name.
Displays the current
process name.

Sample
10
R
a
t
e

Cr

0

Process Ready1

Figure 5-3 Rate vs. Time Graph

Sample
20
R D
a e
t v
e %

Cr

Process Ready10

Figure 5-4 Rate Deviation vs. Time graph

Sample
999
T
h
i
c
k
0

Cr

Process Ready1

Figure 5-5 Thickness vs. Time Graph

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Sample
5
P
o
w
e
r
%
0

Cr

Process Ready1

Figure 5-6 Power vs. Time Graph
5.6
STATUS DISPLAYS
There are two run time status screens that can be displayed at any time bypressing the Status key (providing they have each been enabled in the Edit
Display Setup menu). The first key press will bring up the last viewed status
screen, repeatedly pressing the Status key will cycle through the two status
screens, shown below.

SampleCr
Src Pckt Power
1* >1< 23.7
2
1 10.0
3
00.0
4
00.0
5
00.0
6
00.0

Snsr
1*
2
3
4
5
6

Xtl
1
1

Process Ready
Hlth Rate Thick
95 00.0 0.000
99 00.0 0.000-- 00.0 0.000-- 00.0 0.000-- 00.0 0.000-- 00.0 0.000

Figure 5-7 Source/Sensor Status screen
The Source/Sensor status screen displays the status of the six sensors and sources
including the crystal or pocket position, source power, crystal health, eachsensor's deposition rate and thickness or frequency. You select either sensor
thickness or frequency in the Edit Display Setup Menu by setting the Sensor
Status parameter. Active sources and the active sensors are indicated with an *next to the number. A failed sensor/crystal is indicated by “--” in the health field.
The Source/Sensor Status Screen also allows the user to change the source pocket
position, sensor crystal position and the active sensor. You can only change thesource pocket and sensor crystal positions if the 370 is setup for automatic
control. The source pocket position can only be changed while the 370 is in the
Ready mode. To change a source pocket number, simply move the cursor onto
the pocket number of the desired source, enter the new pocket number and press
5-4

OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Enter. The 370 will enter the Change Pocket State where it will remain until thedesired pocket is in position or a Source Fault occurs.
You change the sensor crystal position by moving the cursor onto the crystal
number of the desired sensor, enter the new crystal number and press Enter. The
370 will enter the Change Crystal State where it will remain until the desired
crystal is in position or a Sensor Fault occurs.
You change the active sensor by moving onto the current active sensor, enter the
new sensor number and press Enter. The active sensor as indicated by the * willchange to the selected sensor.

SampleInput
01>Name
02
03
04
05
06

Cr
State
F
F
F
F
F
F

Process Ready
Output
State
F<
F
F
F
F
F

Figure 5-8 I/O Status Screen
The I/O status screen indicates the state of all the 370's inputs and outputs. Please
note that you can use the arrow keys to scroll up and down the I/O listing.
5.7
VIEWING RESULTS
The MDC-370 has an optional Internal Data Storage capability that provides
internal storage of real time run data. Stored data can later be viewed through thefour status graphs or can be downloaded to a PC for permanent storage and/or
review.
The data log option provides storage for up to 16 process logs and/or 27,000 data
point sets of real time run data. A process log consists of the process name, run
number, starting time and date, ending time and the completion status of the run.
The process logs are stored in a stack such that newest process is at the top of thestack and the oldest process is at the bottom of the stack. The start of the next
process will push all of the logs down one position on the stack. The last or 16th
process log on the stack will be lost.
A data point set consists of the measured deposit rate, rate deviation, thickness
and the deposit power. The 27,000 data point sets are stored in a circular buffer
such that new data will overwrite the oldest data. If data from the current process
overwrites an older process than that entire process will be erased. If data fromthe current process tries to overwrite the start of the current process then data
logging is stopped so that the beginning of the process is saved.
During a process, data is logged automatically up to 10 data point sets per minute.
At this rate the 27,000 data point storage can hold 45 minutes of data. To allow
OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
for longer processes, the user has the ability to change the number of data pointsets stored per minute. The parameter to modify is called Data Points/Min andcan be found in the Utility Setup menu. The following table shows the total
storage time based on the number of data points per minute parameter.
Data Points/Minute
30
60
120
300
600

Approx. Storage Time(minutes)
900
450
225
90
45

To view a stored process log, select the View Results option from the Main Menu.
This will present a screen with the process log shown in Figure 5-9. From thisscreen any of the 16 process logs can be selected for viewing. Note that thisscreen is only available if the Internal Data Storage and Time/Date Clock option
installed.

Process Name
>SampleSampleRun# Time
Date
Status0002 12:05 12/28/94 Normal <0001 09:54 01/23/95 Aborted

Figure 5-9 View Results Screen
This screen displays the process name, run number, starting time and date and thestatus. The status can be either running, normal, aborted or overrun. Overrunmeans that this process overran itself within the data store.
To select a process log for viewing, just move the cursors onto the desired process
and press the Enter or the Right-arrow key. Please note that you cannot view aprocess log while in process.
Once a process has been selected, the screen will change to the rate vs. time graphshown in Figure 5-10. The logged data will be plotted for the first layer of theprocess. Plotting the data may take from 5 seconds for short layer to up to 15
seconds or more for long layers with a lot of data. Please note that while the data
is being plotted the controller will not read any key presses. When the data has
been plotted the layer number will be displayed in the upper right hand corner of
5-6

OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
the screen. At this point you can press the Status key to switch between the fourgraphs. You can also enter a different layer number to view another layer.

Displays the current
process name.

Displays the current
layer material name.

Sample10RateDisplays the current
layer number.

Cr

Displays the processlayer range.

Lyr>001< (001-999)

01

Figure 5-10 Rate vs. Time Process Log Graph
To return to the process log, press the Left-arrow key.

5.8
MODES
Modes are conditions that the controller can occupy. Some modes are indicatedby the LED’s behind the operating keys. Other modes are displayed in the top
right hand corner of the status display (Refer to Figure 5-3). These controller
modes are described below.
5.8.1

PROCESS READY

The Process Ready Mode indicates the MDC-370 has been reset and is awaiting aStart key press. The yellow LED behind the Reset key, when illuminated,indicates that the controller is in Process Ready Mode.
5.8.2

ABORT

The Abort mode is indicated by a red LED behind the Abort key as well as the
flashing of all of the numeric LED displays. In Abort Mode all displays andoperating keys, with the exception of the Start and Reset keys, are inoperative.
All source control outputs are forced to zero, the Abort relay is closed and all
discrete outputs are forced to open circuit. In addition, if the controller initiatedthe abort then the condition which caused the abort will be displayed in the top
right hand corner of the Parameter/Status display. Exit from Abort Mode requires
either a Reset or Start key press. See also Section 5.4 for resuming an aborted
process. Refer to Table 5-1 for conditions that can cause an abort.

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5.8.3

HALT (SOFT ABORT)In Halt all I/O is frozen. If power is above Soak level, it is ramped down to Soakat the Predeposit ramp rate. If Power is at or below the Soak level it is held
constant. The user has the option to resume from Halt or press Reset and startover. See also Section 5.4 for resuming a halted process. Refer to Table 5-1 forconditions that can cause the process to halt.
5.8.4

IN PROCESSThe green LED behind the Start key indicates the controller is in the In-Process
Mode.
5.8.5

NOT SAMPLING

This mode indicates that the sensor crystal is shuttered from the source and thatthe deposition rate is established using the last power level. Sampling mode is set
by two material parameters, Sample Dwell % and Sample Period. Refer to
Section 4.3.2.1 # 44 and # 45 for a description of Sample Mode.
5.8.6

PROCESS COMPLETE

This mode indicates that the selected process has run to completion. A Process
Complete message is displayed in the top right hand corner of the status display.
In addition, an attention warning will sound. The controller remains in this mode
until a reset signal puts it into the Process Ready mode.
5.8.7

MANUAL

This mode is indicated by the red LED behind the Manual key. In this mode thecontrol voltage output is controlled through the Remote Power Handset. For adetailed description of this mode, refer to Section 3.5.
5.8.8

SIMULATE

This mode simulates rate and thickness build-up by simulating the sensor input
rather than the actual sensor. Refer to Section 3.4 for more information on the
Simulate Mode.
5.9
STATES
Figure 5-11 shows the different states that make up a complete deposition cycle,
such as Rise to Soak, Rise to Predeposit, etc. The controller moves from state tostate as the deposition progresses.
5.10 TROUBLE, ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES
Troubles are controller conditions which in most case are indicative of problems
or errors, but may be just warnings. These messages are displayed in the top righthand corner of the status screen (See Figure 5-3).
In addition, there are three levels of audible warnings associated with the trouble
conditions, Attention, Alert and Alarm. Table 5-1 lists the messages and warning
5-8

OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
levels. The list is arranged in descending order of priority. In the event that morethan one warning level is triggered, the higher level has priority. An asterisk in
the Clear column indicates the warning sound will clear when the condition
clears. Any key press will also clear the sound. The action column indicateswhat if any action is taken as a result of the trouble.
Messages
Min Rate&Max PowerMax Rate&Min Power
System Setup memory corrupted
Process memory corrupted
Material memory corrupted
Rate Est. Error
Crystal Failure
Source Fault
Sensor Fault
No Snsrs EnabledTime Power
Rate Dev. Alarm
Alarm Action
Crystal Marginal
Rate Dev. Alert
Max power Alert
Min power Alert
Alert Action
Xtal Fail Switch

Type
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm/Attn
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alert/Attn
Alert
Alert
Alert
Alert
Attention

Xtal Mrgn Switch

Attention

Rate Dev. Atten
Attention
Max power
Attention
Min power
Attention
Change source # X to (material name)
Attentionand press Start to continue.
Change sensor # X to crystal # X
Attentionand press Start to continue.
Attention Action
Attention
Press Start to resume process.
N/A
Start to continue.
Attention
Calibration Done
Attention
Table 5-1 Trouble Conditions and Warnings

Warning
Clear

NO/*

Action
Abort
Abort
Halt
Halt
Halt
Halt
Halt
Halt
Halt
Halt
Time/Power

*
NO/*
*
*
*
*
CrystalSwitchCrystalSwitch
*
*
*
Hold
Hold
*
*
*

Hold

5.10.1 DESCRIPTION

Each of the messages is described below.

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-9

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5.10.1.1

MIN RATE&MAX POWER

This message indicates that the output power is at the maximum power level set
by the Maximum Power parameter and the rate deviation is below the limit value
set in the Rate Dev. Alarm parameter. When this happens, the controller will go
into the Abort mode and the Alarm will sound.
5.10.1.2

MAX RATE&MIN POWER

This message indicates that the output power is at the minimum power level set
by the Minimum Power parameter, and the rate deviation is above the limit value
set by the Rate Dev. Abort parameter. When this happens, the controller will go
in Abort mode and the Alarm warning will sound.
5.10.1.3

SYSTEM SETUP MEMORY CORRUPTED

The integrity of the System Setup Memory has changed since the last time asystem parameter was modified. Each one of the sub menus and its parameters
has to be checked and corrected as necessary to fix this problem.
5.10.1.4

PROCESS MEMORY CORRUPTED

The integrity of the selected process has been changed since last time the process
was modified. Each one of the process parameters has to be checked andcorrected as necessary to fix this problem.
5.10.1.5

MATERIAL MEMORY CORRUPTED

The integrity of the selected material has been changed since last time thematerial was modified. Each one of the material parameters has to be checkedand corrected as necessary to fix this problem.
5.10.1.6

RATE EST. ERROR

The controller is unable to establish the programmed rate within the time
specified in the Rate Establish Time parameter. The rate is considered establishedwhen it stays within the Rate Establish Error % for 5 seconds.
5.10.1.7

CRYSTAL FAILURE

This condition indicates lack of a valid signal from the sensor, and generally
results from a failed crystal but may also indicate problems in the crystal
mounting or the interconnection between the sensor and the controller. If the
primary crystal fails and the process is not in deposit state, the Attention warning
will sound. If the backup crystal fails and the process is not in the deposit state,
the alarm will sound and the process will be halted.
5.10.1.8

SOURCE FAULTThis condition indicates that the correct source pocket position feedback has notbeen achieved within the time set by the Rotator Delay parameter (Source Setup
Menu).

5-10 OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5.10.1.9

SENSOR FAULTThis condition indicates that the correct crystal position feedback has not beenachieved within the time set by the Rotator Delay parameter (Sensor Setup
Menu).
5.10.1.10

NO SENSORS ENABLED

This condition indicates that no sensors were enabled for measurement of thismaterial.
5.10.1.11

TIME POWER

This message is displayed when the controller is completing the current layer
based on the last power and rate. This occurs in the event of a crystal failure
without a backup.
5.10.1.12

RATE DEV. ALARM

The deposition rate error is greater than the rate deviation value set in the Rate
Deviation Alarm parameter.
5.10.1.13

ALARM ACTION

This message indicates the Alarm sound was initiated by an internal action.
5.10.1.14

CRYSTAL MARGINALThe sensor crystal in use is poor in quality. If the crystal is the backup one, theAlert warning will sound when the process is in deposit state. If the primary
crystal is in poor quality then the Attention will sound.
5.10.1.15

RATE DEV. ALERTThe deposition rate deviation is greater than the value set in the Rate Deviation
Alert parameter.
5.10.1.16

MAX POWER ALERT

Indicates that the power output level has been at the Maximum Power level longer
than the time period set in the Power Alert Delay parameter.
5.10.1.17

MIN POWER ALERT

Indicates that the power output level has been at or below the Minimum Powerlevel longer than the time period set in the Power Alert Delay parameter.
5.10.1.18

ALERT ACTION

This message indicates the Alert sound was initiated by an internal action.

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-11

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5.10.1.19

XTAL FAIL SWITCHThis message indicates the primary crystal has failed and the sensor input has
been switched to the backup crystal. In addition, the Attention warning sounds.
Press any key to clear the sound.
5.10.1.20

XTAL MRGN SWITCHThis message indicates the primary crystal is marginal and the sensor input has
been switched to the backup crystal. In addition, the Attention warning sounds.
Press any key to clear the sound.
5.10.1.21

RATE DEV. ATTEN

The deposition rate deviation error is greater than the value set in the Rate
Deviation Attention parameter.
5.10.1.22

MAXIMUM POWER

The output power is being limited by the value set in the Maximum Powerparameter.
5.10.1.23

MINIMUM POWER

The output power is at or below the minimum power set by the Minimum Powerparameter.
5.10.1.24

CHANGE POCKET...

Prompts the operator to switch the source pocket to the correct position. The
process will be on hold until the Start key is pressed. There is no message if theControl parameter is set to Auto (Source Setup Menu).
5.10.1.25

CHANGE CRYSTAL...

Prompts the operator to switch the sensor to the correct crystal position. The
process will be on hold until the Start key is pressed. There is no message if theControl parameter is set to Auto (Sensor Setup Menu).
5.10.1.26

ATTENTION ACTION

This message indicates the Alert sound was initiated by an internal action.
5.10.1.27

CALIBRATION DONE

This message indicates that the sensor tooling factor calibration run initiated by
the user is now complete. The next step is to measure the substrate's actual
thickness using another measuring device such as a profilometer and entered themeasured thickness. The MDC-370 will calculate the tooling factors for all
sensors enabled during calibration based on the each sensor's thickness and themeasure substrate thickness.

5-12 OPERATING THE MDC-370

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 5-11 Typical Process Profile

OPERATING THE MDC-370

5-13

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

6.

TUNING THE MDC-370 CONTROL LOOP

6.1
Control Loop Basics
If evaporation rate were a function of source power alone, a rate controller would
not be necessary. One would establish the power required to achieve the desiredrate, set the power at that point and that would be that. In control systemparlance, this is called “Open Loop” control.
Unfortunately, evaporation rate is a function of many variables. With E-gunsources, rate is affected by material level, water-cooling temperature, beam
position, sweep pattern, etc. With filaments and boats, rate is affected by material
level, boat or filament condition, power line voltage, power losses in cables,
connections, transformers, switches, etc. Even when sputtering under theconditions of constant power and constant pressure, rate is affected by target
condition.
So, if we want to achieve a known and constant rate, we need a rate controller.
The rate controller compares the measured rate with the desired rate and attempts
to keep them equal by adjusting the command signal to the power supply. This iscalled “Closed Loop” or feedback control.
The most common example of feedback control is a car and driver. The car is the“Plant”. It is controlled by pedal pressure and steering wheel angle. Its output isdirection and speed. The driver is the “Controller”. The driver monitors the
direction and speed and adjusts pedal pressure and steering wheel angle to achieve
the direction and speed he/she desires. If we hold the controls steady and close
our eyes, no feedback, then our control is open loop. If the road is very straightand there is no wind, “no disturbances to the plant”, we can sometimes stay on theroad for a pretty good distance. If the road is rolling or we have a goodcrosswind, the time we can stay on the road in open loop control can be pretty
short indeed.
If the controller is slow and sluggish, i.e. a drunk driver, the difference between
the desired speed and direction can be very different from the speed and direction
desired. The driver can be all over the road, speeding up, slowing down, etc.
If the controller’s gain is too high, typical of a young person’s first driving
experience, the response to an error is both slow and too great and the car careensfrom one side of the road to the other. This control “System” would normally gocompletely unstable and crash if control were not assumed by a different
controller.
In the case of a young driver with a little more experience under his/her belt, theresponse speed has improved but the gain is still a little high. The vehicle stays
pretty well in control but there is a lot of steering wheel action. We say thiscontroller is “oversteering”.
When we go from one vehicle to another, especially if the vehicles are very
different in size or weight, we find that we must really concentrate on our driving
at first. That is because we are learning the characteristics of the “Plant”. As
Tuning the MDC-370 Control Loop

6-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
soon as we’ve learned them, we know what we have to do to correct for errors
and we are back in good control. In other words the controller must compensate
for the characteristics or the “Plant”.
6.2
CONTROL LOOPS APPLIED TO VACUUM DEPOSITIONIn the deposition control loop the vacuum system and evaporation supply make up
the plant. The output, deposition rate, is controlled by the source control voltage
which establishes the source power. If all plants were the same we could
predefine the characteristics of the controller for optimum control. Unfortunately,plants vary widely, in their gain, linearity, response, noise and drift.
The question we are going to address here is how the controller adjusts thesourcecontrol voltage, the “command signal”. The MDC utilizes a type 1 control
loop. A type 1 control loop does not require a continuous error to achieve a nonzero control voltage.
Many controllers utilize a type 0 control loop. In this type of loop the source
control voltage output is determined by multiplying the rate error by the
Proportional gain. For any given non zero output the error required to achieve thenecessary output is inversely proportional the to gain. High gain, low error, lowgain, high error. This would seem to call for high gain. Unfortunately, the higher
the gain the higher the chance of instability. We may go unstable before we getthe error down to where we want it.
In the MDC, the proportional gain parameter sets the rate at which the control
voltage changes in response to an error signal. Any error in the rate causes thesource control voltage to ramp to a new value. When the source control voltage
increases or decreases to the correct value, the value required to achieve thedesired rate, the error goes to zero and the output remains constant.
The Derivative Time constant is utilized to compensate for slow sources such as
boats and induction heated sources. Like a large truck, these sources take time to
get up to speed and to stop. The Derivative Time constant looks at the rate ofchange of the error. If the error is decreasing rapidly we better take our foot off
the gas or we are going to overshoot our target. If the error is decreasing, but
decreasing very slowly, we need to goose it to get up to speed. The Derivative
Time constant instructs the controller on how much attention to pay to the rate ofchange of the error. A value of zero tells the controller to ignore the rate ofchange of the error. A large value tells the controller that this source is slow andis going to be hard to get going and hard to stop. So if the rate starts to fall off,
give it power, or if we’re quickly approaching the target, begin to decrease thepower.
The Integral Time constant is used to keep the thickness profile on schedule. We
may have no rate error right now, so if we were not concerned about the thickness
profile, we would be happy and leave everything as it is. However if we aretrying to stay on a thickness profile, stay on schedule as it were, we may want tospeed up or slow down a little bit to make up for previously lost, or gained time.
For example, suppose our desired speed is 50 mph and that’s the speed we aretraveling. However we’ve been traveling for exactly an hour and we’ve only
6-2

Tuning the MDC-370 Control Loop

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
gone 48 miles because of some traffic earlier on. Our Integral error is 2 miles. If
we want to get back on schedule we need to speed up a bit. If schedule is very
important to us, we will speed up a lot to get back on schedule fast. If schedule is
not important at all we will maintain our speed. The Integral Time constant
instructs the controller on how much attention to pay to the schedule. If we don’tcare what happened in the past and we want zero rate error right now, we don’t
want any Integral feedback. To accomplish that we set the Integral Time constant
to its maximum value, which tells the controller to ignore any past error unless it
lasts for a very long time.
6.3
ESTABLISHING MDC-370 CONTROL LOOP PARAMETERS
As explained above, the MDC utilizes three control loop parameters referred to as
PID parameters; Proportional gain, Integral Time constant and Derivative Time
constant to provide for optimization of the control loop. The MDC provides
default values for each of these parameters.
Default and Range for PID Parameters
Parameter
Proportional gain
Integral time constant,sec.
Derivative time constantsec.

Minimumvalue
10

Maximum
value
9999
99.9

Default
value
1000
99.9

0

99.9

0.0

The following table lists some recommended PID values for different types ofdeposition sources. These values represent a good starting point and in somecases may not need to be further modified.
Suggested PID Starting Values for Different Sources
Parameter
Proportional gain
Integral time constant,sec.
Derivative time constantsec.

Electron
Beam Gun
2000
99.9

Filament
Boat
600
99.9

25.0

75.0

In the MDC-370, the PID parameters are defined at the material level because
different materials often require different PID settings even though they may bedeposited from the same source. Therefore it is usually necessary to establish the
PID parameters for every each material and deposition source.

Tuning the MDC-370 Control Loop

6-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
The first step in setting the PID parameters for a new material or source is to enter
the recommended starting values listed above. Be sure and choose the PID values
for the type of source you're using. Next, create a dummy process with the firstlayer set for the new material. Start and abort the dummy process to load the newmaterial as the active material. You should now see the material's name in the top
line of any Status Screen. Next, open the shutter and put the 370 in the manual
power mode and adjust the source power using the remote handset to establish thepower ramp parameters. Set the Predeposit Power level at or slightly below thepower needed to get the desired deposition rate.
With the power ramp parameters defined, the next step is to start the dummy
process to see how well the 370 controls the rate. If the rate is too high or low
when the shutter opens then make a note to go back and adjust the Predeposit
Power level. Watch the rate graph and the power display. If the rate is different
from the target rate then you should see the 370 adjust the power attempting toachieve the target rate. If the rate is close to the target, then you should
temporarily change the rate to see how the 370 reacts. Ideally the 370 will adjust
the power so that the rate goes right to the target rate without overshooting it. If it
does then no further adjustments are necessary.
If it seems like the 370 is reacting too slowly, press the Program key to get backto the material screen and increase the Proportional Gain parameter. Begin withchanges of about 10 to 20%. Changes of this magnitude are a good starting point
because they are large enough to show the effect of the parameter and smallenough that you won't greatly overshoot the ideal setting. Remember that too
much Proportional Gain will make the system unstable and too little will make the370 slow to react. An unstable system is evident by the rate oscillating around thetarget value. A general rule of thumb is the faster the source, the larger the
Proportional Gain. And conversely, the slower the source the smaller the
Proportional Gain.
With the Proportional Gain at an acceptable value, the next step is to adjust the
Derivative Time if necessary. Disturb the system again by changing the target
rate. Watch the rate graph as the rate approaches the target. If the rate overshootsthe target then increase the Derivative Time and change the target rate again to
see the effect. Repeat these steps slowly increasing the Derivative Time until therate goes right to the target without overshoot.
In very slow systems such as large filament boats, the Proportional Gainparameter may have to be set so low to maintain stability where the rate smoothlylevels off but remains below the target value. In this case you will need to adjust
the Integral Time parameter. This parameter works in reverse meaning thesmaller the value the larger the effect. So, slightly decrease this parameter thenwatch the rate graph. The rate should ramp up to the target without overshoot. If
the ramp takes too long then slowly decrease the Integral Time again and repeat
these steps until you are satisfied with the control.

6-4Tuning the MDC-370 Control Loop

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

7.

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

The following section describes the electrical characteristics of the MDC-370
inputs and outputs. All outputs are updated and inputs are sampled every 100
msec. In order to insure immunity to transients, inputs are not considered to havechanged until the same input state is obtained on two successive input samples.
For this reason all input signals must have a minimum duration of at least 0.2 sec.
Input signals lasting less than 100 msec. will be ignored while signals lasting
between 100 and 200 msec. may or may not be recognized.
7.1
SOURCE CONTROL VOLTAGE OUTPUT
For maximum noise immunity, each two-terminal control voltage output pair isisolated from controller ground. Either terminal can be grounded within the user
system, so the output can provide either a negative or positive output voltage
range. In the event that the receiving equipment has an isolated input, one of thetwo lines should be grounded to avoid excessive voltage buildup on the otherwise
isolated circuitry.
The voltage output range can be programmed (see Source Setup) for 2.5, 5.0 or 10
volts full scale. The output impedance is nominally 100 ohms. The outputs areshort circuit protected with short circuit current limited to between 20 and 40
milliamps, though the outputs should not be short-circuited for long periods. The
schematic appears in Figure 7-5.

CAUTIONLong term shorting of any of the Source outputs may cause excessive
temperature rise in the isolated power supply and should be avoided.
7.2
SENSOR INPUT
The sensor oscillator is connected through a single coaxial cable. Sensor groundis common with the MDC-370 ground. Power to the sensor oscillator is carriedon the center conductor of the coaxial cable. Power is supplied from the MDC370 internal 5 volt supply through a 50 ohm resistor which accomplishes the dual
function of properly terminating the 50 ohm coaxial cable and providing shortcircuit protection. The sensor buffer circuit is shown schematically in Figure 7-4.
7.3
DISCRETE OUTPUTS
Each Discrete Output is an isolated, independent, normally open relay output
connected to one pin pair on the output connector. See Table 8-4 for pin signal
assignments.

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

7-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
7.4
DISCRETE INPUTSThe Input circuit for the Passive I/O card is shown in Figure 7-1. The Passive
inputs are activated by shorting the input’s pins together. The inputs areinternally pulled up to 5 volt through a 4.7 Kohm resistor and incorporate a 10
millisecond filter to enhance noise immunity and provide protection from a
momentary short.
The Input circuit for the Active I/O card is shown in Figure 7-2. The Active
inputs are activated by supplying 12 to 120 volt AC or DC across the input pins.
The inputs incorporate a 10 millisecond filter to enhance noise immunity andprovide protection from a momentary short.
Pin assignments are shown in Table 8-4.
7.5
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER OUTPUTS
Both of the DAC Analog outputs are single-ended and share the MDC-370
common ground, although a separate ground pin is provided for each of the two
DAC outputs. The nominal output voltage range is 0 to 5.0 volts and the output
impedance is 10 Kohm nominal. The DAC analog output circuit is shown in
Figure 7-3 and Table 8-2 provides pin assignments. Refer to Section 4.3.3.7 for
instructions on setting up the DAC parameters.
7.6
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER CONTROL INPUTSThe DAC Control inputs are single-ended and share a common ground with the
MDC-370. The inputs are activated by connecting them to ground through ajumper, mechanical switch or transistor. In the open state, the inputs are pulled
up to 5 volts through a 4.7 Kohm resistor. The DAC control input circuit isshown in Figure 7-1. Refer to Figure 8-3 and Table 8-1 for pin assignments andconnector rating. The circuitry is located on the Main Processor board.

7-2

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICSMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 7-1 Passive Input Buffer circuit
INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

7-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 7-2 Active Input Buffer Circuit

7-4

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICSMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 7-3 DAC Output circuit
INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

7-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 7-4 Sensor Input Buffer circuit
7-6

INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICSMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 7-5 Source Output Driver circuit
INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

7-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

8.

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8.1
MOUNTING
The MDC-370 is intended for rack mounting. For maximum operating ease it
should be mounted at approximately eye level. If the MDC-370 is mounted in a
rack containing other heat generating equipment, care should be taken that there isadequate ventilation to assure that the ambient temperature does not exceed the
MDC-370’s ambient temperature rating.
8.2
PROPER GROUNDING
The MDC-370 was designed for maximum noise immunity and in most cases will
require no special grounding precautions. In the event that noise sensitivity is
noted in unusually noisy environments, more attention to proper grounding may
be required. It is important that the rack in which the MDC-370 is mounted istightly grounded to the vacuum station. This grounding is best accomplished by amultipoint mechanical connection through the structure itself or throughgrounding straps. Grounding straps should be as wide as practicable and can be
foil or braid.
A small diameter copper conductor does not create an effective ground.
Although the D.C. resistance measured with such a connection may be low, theinductance can be high allowing rapidly changing currents to create large
potential differences over the length of the ground wire. Multiple current paths
significantly reduce the inductance, and since the inductance of a conductor isinversely proportional to it’s radius, wide straps will have the lowest inductance.
In particularly noisy environments it is desirable to ground the MDC-370 to therack frame, or other good ground, by means of a grounding strap connected to thegrounding lug provided on the rear panel.
8.3
EXTERNAL CONNECTIONS
Most external connections are made through the rear panel (See Figure 8-2). The
Remote Power Handset connector and a temporary RS-232 connection are,however, located on the front panel (Figure 8-1).
8.3.1

POWER

The power receptacle is an internationally approved type. A fuse, voltage
selection board and RFI filter are part of the power receptacle assembly. The
power plug must be removed to change the fuse or the voltage selection board
position.
8.3.2

VOLTAGE SELECTION

The voltage selection is preset at the factory for a nominal input of 120 volts.
However, the following nominal input voltages can be selected: 100, 120, 220,240. For a 230 volt supply voltage, the 240 volt option should be used. Selection
CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
of the desired nominal input voltage is accomplished by removing and reorienting
the voltage selector assembly. Follow the steps listed below to select the properline voltage:••••

Remove the AC power cord if installed.
Using a medium flat-tip screwdriver, open the cover on the power module
exposing the fuses and the voltage select assembly.
Rotate the voltage selector until the desired voltage is in such a position thatmakes it the only number displayed with the power module cover closed.
Close the power module cover and verify that the desired line voltage isvisible through the hole in the cover.

8.3.3

GROUND LUG

In particularly noisy environments the MDC-370 should be grounded to the
instrument rack, or other good ground, by means of the grounding lug in the rear
panel. (See Figure 8-2).
8.3.4

REMOTE POWER HANDSET

Figure 8-1 shows the location of the receptacle into which the Remote Power
Handset is plugged.
8.3.5

SOURCE-SENSOR

The system interface with the remote sensor oscillator is a 50 Ohm coax cableterminated with BNC connectors similar to AMP 225395-1 (plug) and AMP
225396-1 (jack). The plug on the Source-Sensor Board mates to a jack on thecable which is supplied with the oscillator.
The control voltage output is interfaced via a 4-pin, circular mini DIN connector
equivalent to CINCH MDSS-4S. The pin layout is defined in Figure 8-4 andTable 8-2 supplies pin signal assignments.
8.3.6

RS-232 COMMUNICATION

There are two connections for the RS-232 interface port. A D9P connector isprovided on the rear panel for permanent connection to the host computer. The
pin layout is shown in Figure 8-5 and Table 8-3 lists pin signal assignments,
including a definition of whether the signal is an output from the MDC-370 or an
input to the MDC-370.
A DJ11 jack located on the front panel is provided for temporary connection to
the host computer. Pin layout and pin signal assignments are shown in Figure 8-7
and Table 8-5.
The MDC-370 acts as DTE, and accordingly the 9-pin connector has ‘plug’ pins.
It can be used with a DCE or a DTE host cable connection providing the sense of
the RxD/TxD data lines and the control lines is observed. Pin 2 ‘TxD’ transmits
data from the MDC-370 to the host; pin 3 ‘RxD’ receives data from the host. Pin
7 ‘CTS’ is a control output signal, and pin 8 ‘RTS’ is a control input signal.

8-2

CONTROLLER INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
In this implementation, pin 7 ‘CTS’ means what is says, namely, this is an output
control line, and when the MDC-370 asserts this control line ‘true’ the host cantransmit to the MDC-370. On the other hand, pin 8 ‘RTS’ is not quite what it
may seem because this is a signal input to the MDC-370, and it is intended thatthe host should assert this line ‘true’ only when the MDC-370 is allowed totransmit data to the host. The MDC-370 does not generate an RTS ‘request-tosend’ as such for the host PC, so the host should assert pin 8 true whenever the
MDC-370 is allowed to transmit to the host, without being asked to do so.
8.3.7

DISCRETE INPUT/OUTPUT

The MDC-370 has two types of I/O cards available. The Passive I/O card, PN#
179206, has TTL level (0 to 5 volt DC) inputs. The Passive inputs are pulled up
to 5 volts internally through a 4.7 K OHM resister and are set true, assuming the
input’s True level is set to Low, by shorting the input pins together. The Active
I/O card, PN# 179239, has 12 to 120 volt AC/DC inputs. The Active inputs are
set true, assuming the input’s true level is set to High, by supplying 12 to 120 volt
AC or DC across the input pins.
Both cards have the same relay output scheme and use the same D37P connector.
The only difference is the Active I/O card’s connector is keyed such that it cannot
be inserted into the Passive I/O card’s connector.
There are two I/O card slots in the MDC-370 and they function identically. Either
card type can be inserted into either I/O slot. The vacuum system side of the I/O
cards requires a socket connector with receptacle crimp pins equivalent to AMP
205562-2. Figure 8-6 shows the pin configuration and Table 8-4 supplies pin
signal assignments for both types of cards. Refer to Section 4.3.3.2 and 4.3.3.3
for I/O programming instructions.
8.3.8

DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC)The Digital-to-Analog Converters are interfaced via a 7-pin, circular mini DIN
connector. The vacuum system side of the interface requires a connector
equivalent to the CINCH MDX-7PI. Figure 8-3 shows the connector and Table 81 shows the signal assignments.

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-1 MDC-370 Front Panel

8-4

CONTROLLER INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-2 MDC-370 Rear Panel

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-3 DAC socket connector pin out
Pin Number
Signal1
Output #1
2
Output #1 Return3
Output #2
4
Output #2 Return5
Zero Scale Input
6
Full Scale Input
7
Scale Input Return
Table 8-1 DAC System Interface Connector Pin Assignments

Figure 8-4 Source socket connector pin out
Pin
SignalNumber
Source-Sensor Bd #1
Source-Sensor Bd #2
1
Source #2 Control Voltage Source #4 Control Voltage
2
Source #2 ReturnSource #4 Return3
Source #1 ReturnSource #3 Return4
Source #1 Control Voltage Source #3 Control Voltage
Table 8-2 Source Control System Interface Connector Pin Assignments

8-6

CONTROLLER INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-5 D9S DTE Rear-panel RS-232 socket connector
Pin
SignalNumber
RS-232
RS-4851
Not used
RxInput
2
Tx
Output
Rx+
Input
3
Rx
Input
Tx+
Output4
Not used
TxOutput
5
GND
GND
6
Not used
CTSInput
7
CTS
Input
CTS+ Input
8
RTS
Output
RTS+ Output
9
Not used
RTS- Output
Table 8-3 D9 Rear Panel RS-232/RS-485 Connector Pin Assignments

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-6 D37P Discrete I/O plug connector
Pin Number
Function
1, 20
Abort output
2, 21, 11
Output 1 (Common, N.O., N.C.)
3, 22, 29
Output 2 (Common, N.O., N.C.)
4,23
Output 3
5, 24
Output 4
6, 25
Output 5
7, 26
Output 6
8, 27
Output 7
9, 28
Output 830
Input 1
12
Input 1 Return
31
Input 213
Input 2 Return32
Input 314
Input 3 Return
33
Input 415
Input 4 Return
34
Input 516
Input 5 Return
35
Input 617
Input 6 Return
36
Input 718
Input 7 Return
37
Input 819
Input 8 Return
Table 8-4 Discrete I/O System Interface Connector Pin Assignments

8-8

CONTROLLER INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-7 RJ11 Front Panel RS-232 Connector
Pin Number
Signal1
Not used
2
CTS
Input
3
Rx
Input
4
RTS
Output5
Tx
Output6
GND
Table 8-5 RJ11 Front Panel RS-232 Connector Pin Assignments

PIN 1

PIN 4

Figure 8-8 Front Panel Manual Power Connector
Pin Number
Signal1
Decrease
2
GND
3
Abort
4
Increase
Table 8-6 Front Panel Manual Power Connector Pin Assignments

CONTROLLER INSTALLATION

8-9

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 8-9 MDC-370 Top View (Cover Removed)
8-10 CONTROLLER INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

9.

SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9.1
SENSOR HEAD DESCRIPTION
The sensor head is designed for simple installation and easy crystal replacement.
It consists of two parts; a water-cooled gold-plated 304 stainless steel housing
which is permanently positioned in the vacuum system, and a quickly removablegold plated 304 stainless steel crystal holder which snaps into the housing. The
crystal holder accommodates an industry standard 0.550” diameter crystal.
This design provides several convenient features in performance and use. The
crystal holder is thermally shielded by the water-cooled housing insuring
excellent crystal performance in temperature environments up to 300°C. The
sensor may be baked out with no water-cooling to temperatures up to 250°C.
The exposed crystal electrode is fully grounded to effectively eliminate problems
due to free electrons and RF interference.
The crystal holder is easily removed and installed even in awkward locations in
the vacuum system. Once removed from the housing the crystal is still retained in
the crystal holder by a snap on retainer. The crystal can be easily replaced
without tools at a more convenient place, such as a clean bench.
The housing is provided with four tapped (4-40) holes for convenient mounting,1/8” diameter X 5” long inlet and outlet water cooling tubes, and a coaxial
connector (See Figure 9-4). The electrical connection to an instrumentation
feedthrough is made with a 30” coaxial cable. Both ends of the cable terminate
with standard Microdot S-50 type connectors. Cable lengths up to 60” areavailable upon request.
9.2
SENSOR HEAD INSTALLATIONThe sensor head can be installed in any appropriate location in the vacuum
chamber, preferably more than 10 inches from the evaporation source. It can besupported by its integral mounting bracket furnished with two #4-40 tapped holes.
The internal (vacuum) cable, supplied with the sensor kit, connects the sensor
head to the dual water/electrical feedthrough, to which the oscillator is attached.
The cable length from sensor head to feedthrough connection should not exceed
60 inches. Shield the sensor cable in the most expedient way possible to protect itfrom radiation heat released from the evaporation source or the substrate heater.
The water-cooling tube connects to the feedthrough by brazing or vacuum
couplings. If necessary, both cable and water lines may be wrapped in aluminum
foil to extend their useful life. The mounting tabs may be used to install aradiation shield to specifically protect the Microdot connector and cable at its
attachment point to the head.
Water-cooling of the sensor head should always be provided except during short
depositions at low temperatures. In all cases, head operating temperature should
not exceed 100°C. Sufficient cooling for thermal environment to 300°C can beprovided by approximately 0.2-gpm water flow.
SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Use a shutter to shield the sensor during initial soak periods to protect the crystal
from any sputtering that may occur. If a small droplet of molten material hits the
crystal, the crystal may be damaged and oscillation may cease.
9.3
SENSOR OSCILLATOR
The sensor oscillator, Figure 9-2, is designed to be used with industry standard 6
megahertz sensor crystals. The oscillator’s characteristics enable it to obtainmaximum life from the sensor crystal.
The oscillator is supplied with a 6” coaxial cable and a 10’ coaxial cable. The 6”
cable interconnects the oscillator and the feedthrough. The 10’ cableinterconnects the oscillator and the MDC-370. This single coaxial cable provides
both power for the oscillator and the signal output for the controller. Cables ofany length are available upon request for replacing the 10’ cable. A schematic of
the oscillator is shown on Figure 9-1.

9-2

SYSTEM INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

9.3.1

INSTALLATION

Connect one end of the 10-foot oscillator cable to the BNC connector on theappropriate source-sensor board at the rear of the MDC-370. Connect the otherend of the cable to the oscillator with the arrow pointed toward the sensor head.
The oscillator connects to the feedthrough leading into the vacuum chamber usinga 6 in. cable.
CAUTION
Always use the cables supplied by Maxtek to make the connections.
Failure to make this connection correctly
will create a mismatch in the impedanceof the oscillator circuit.
9.4
INSTRUMENTATION FEEDTHROUGH
A 1 inch diameter, O-Ring sealed feedthrough (IF-111, Figure 9-3) or a 2-3/4 inch
Conflat® flange seal are available with 1/8 inch source and return water coolinglines, and internal and external coaxial cable connectors. Base plate thickness up
to one inch can be accommodated.
RF interference and free electrons are effectively shielded from the signal
connector through the use of fully closed coaxial cable connections. A standard
coaxial cable with a Microdot® S-50 connector mates the internal feedthroughconnector to the sensor head. The feedthrough has a standard BNC connector forthe coaxial connection to the sensor oscillator.
9.5
SENSOR CRYSTAL REPLACEMENTThe Sensor Head is especially designed for easy sensor crystal replacement andreliable operation. The crystal lies in a drawer that slides into the sensor housing.
Pull the drawer straight out of the sensor housing by gripping the drawer’s edges
between thumb and forefinger. With the drawer removed, pull straight up on theretainer spring clip and shake out the spent crystal. Drop a new crystal into thedrawer with the full electrode side down and the pattern electrode side up. Make
sure the crystal is properly seated in the bottom of the drawer. Install the retainer
clip by gently pressing it onto the drawer. The retainer clip should snap into thedrawer. All three retaining legs must be fully engaged onto the drawer housing.
Replace the drawer into the sensor housing. The drawer should slide in easily andsnap into place.
Removal and replacement of sensor crystals should be performed in a clean
environment. An isolated clean workbench is recommended for crystal
replacement. To prevent crystal contamination, use clean lab gloves or plastic
tweezers when handling the crystal and keep the new crystals in a closed plastic
case. When handling the drawer always hold it by the edges to avoid touching the
crystal surface.

SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
9.6
TYPICAL SYSTEM INSTALLATION
A typical system installation is shown in Figure 9-5. Installation can varydepending on the application

9-4

SYSTEM INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 9-1 Sensor Oscillator Schematic
SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 9-2 Sensor Oscillator Outline

9-6

SYSTEM INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 9-3 IF-111 Instrumentation Feedthrough Outline

SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 9-4 SH-102 Sensor Head Outline
9-8

SYSTEM INSTALLATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Figure 9-5 Typical System Installation
SYSTEM INSTALLATION

9-9

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

10.

THEORY OF OPERATION

10.1 BASIC MEASUREMENTThe MDC-370 uses a quartz crystal as the basic transducing element. The quartz
crystal itself is a flat circular plate approximately 0.55 in. (1.40 cm) in diameterand 0.011-0.013 in. (28-33mm) thick for 6 and 5 MHz. The crystal thickness isinversely proportional to the crystal frequency. The crystal is excited intomechanical motion by means of an external oscillator. The unloaded crystal
vibrates in the thickness shear mode at approximately the frequency of thespecified crystal. The frequency at which the quartz crystal oscillates is loweredby the addition of material to its surface.
10.2 FILM THICKNESS CALCULATION
Early investigators noted that if one assumed that the addition of material to thesurface produced the same effect as the addition of an equal mass of quartz, thefollowing equation could be used to relate the film thickness to the change incrystal frequency.
TK f =

Nq ⋅ ρqf −f
ρf ⋅ f 2 q

(

)

(1)

where:
Nq= Frequency constant for an “AT” cut quartz crystal vibrating in thickness
shear (Hz x cm).
Nq = 1.668 x 105 Hz x cm.

ρq = Density of quartz g/cm3.
fq = Resonant frequency of uncoated crystal.
f = Resonant frequency of loaded crystal.
Tkf = Film thickness.

ρf = Density of film g/cm3 .
This equation proved to be adequate in most cases, however, note that theconstant of proportionality is not actually constant because the equation contains
the crystal frequency which of course changes as the film builds up. Because theachievable frequency change was small enough, the change in scale factor fellwithin acceptable limits.

THEORY OF OPERATION

10-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Improvements in sensor crystals and oscillator circuits resulted in a significant
increase in achievable frequency shift. Low cost integrated digital circuits
became available allowing a significant increase in basic instrument accuracy. As
a result of the above two factors, the frequency squared term in the scale factor
became a significant limitation on the measurement accuracy.
If the period of oscillation is measured rather than the frequency, 1/period can besubstituted for frequency resulting in the following equation.
TK f =

Nq ⋅ ρqρf(τ − τ )q(2)

where:

τ= Period of loaded crystal (sec.)
τq= Period of uncoated crystal (sec.)
Note: Units of are cm/sec.
Note that the constant of proportionality in this equation is constant. Thisapproach was demonstrated to be a significant improvement over frequency
measurement and was widely adopted.
The original assumption that the addition of a foreign material to the surface ofthe crystal produced the same effect as that of the addition of an equal mass ofquartz was of course, questionable and indeed work with crystals heavily loadedwith certain materials showed significant and predictable deviation between theactual measured film thickness and that predicted by equation 2. Analysis of theloaded crystal as a one dimensional composite resonator of quartz and thedeposited film led to the equation below: ρq τ −τ q  τ  ⋅ N q ⋅ 
TK f =  ⋅ arctan  Rz tan π  πR z  τ 
ρf 


(3)

where:
Rz is referred to as the Acoustic Impedance Ratio and is obtained by dividing theacoustic impedance of quartz by the acoustic impedance of the deposited film.
This equation introduces another term into the relationship which is the ratio of
the acoustic impedance of quartz to the acoustic impedance of the deposited film.
The acoustic impedance is that associated with the transmission of a shear wave

10-2 THEORY OF OPERATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
in the material. Note that if the acoustic impedance ratio is equal to one, quartz
on quartz, equation 3 reduces to equation 2.
Although the above equation still involves a number of simplifying assumptions,its ability to accurately predict the film thickness of most commonly depositedmaterials has been demonstrated.
The use of microprocessors allows an equation as complex as equation 3 to besolved economically and the above equation is implemented in the MDC-370.
The basic measurement is period, which can be thought of as a measurement ofequivalent quartz mass.
The actual film mass on the crystal is then found by applying the acoustic
impedance correction factor.
At the beginning of the deposit, or when the thickness indication is zeroed, theinitial equivalent quartz mass and the initial corrected film mass are stored. For
each subsequent measurement the new corrected total film mass is calculated, andthe film mass deposited since the start of deposit is determined by subtracting theinitial corrected film mass from the total corrected film mass.
The film thickness on the crystal is calculated by dividing by the film mass by thefilm density.
The film thickness on the substrates is then calculated by multiplying the film
thickness on the crystal by a tooling factor.
If the acoustic impedance parameter is changed following a deposition both thetotal and the initial film masses are recalculated. This allows the effect of thechanged parameter value to be immediately displayed and provides a relatively
straightforward method of empirically determining the acoustic impedance if it is
not available. See section 10.6.3.
10.3 CRYSTAL HEALTH CALCULATION
Crystal Health decreases from a value of 100% for an uncoated crystal blank to 0
at a total deposited aerial mass of 25 mg/cm2. This value corresponds to a crystal
frequency shift of approximately 1.5 MHz, or an aluminum thickness of 925 KÅ.
Very few materials can be deposited to this thickness without producing a crystal
failure, so that a crystal health of zero will not normally be achieved and indeed
for some materials the crystal health may never get below 90%.
In order to establish the point at which the crystal should be changed, several trial
runs should be made to determine the point at which the crystal fails andsubsequent crystals should then be replaced well in advance of this point.
Because the crystal health is determined from the calculated film mass, theAcoustic Impedance parameter will affect the displayed crystal health.

THEORY OF OPERATION

10-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
10.4 RATE CALCULATION
The deposition rate for each sensor is calculated by dividing the change in themeasured thickness by the time between measurements. The rate is then filteredby a three pole digital filter to filter out quantizing and sampling noise introducedby the discrete time, digital nature of the measurement process. The above filter
has an effective time constant of about 2 seconds. Following a step the displayed
rate will settle to 95% of the final value in 5 sec. The individual sensor rates are
displayed in the Source/Sensor status screen.
If only one sensor is enabled for measurement, then the displayed rate is themeasured rate for only that sensor. If multiple sensors are enabled formeasurement, then the displayed rate is the weighted average of all of the sensors
enabled for measurement.
10.5 MULTI-SENSOR AVERAGING
The MDC-370's most important feature is its ability to average multiple crystal
sensors. Most thin film monitors and controllers only measure a single crystal at
one point in the chamber which may be adequate for some processes. However,critical processes can benefit from multi-sensor averaging because it can reduce
errors caused by changing vapor distribution which is one of the biggest error
sources in film thickness measurement.
Consider the typical case with a single crystal sensor located in the center of thechamber up next to the planetary. Now imagine the vapor plume moving awayfrom the center of the chamber because of an uneven melt. Assume that theevaporation rate at the source remains constant. As the plume moves away fromthe center, a single sensor will indicate a decrease in the rate but, the actual rateon the substrates has not changed significantly. Now consider what would
happen with addition crystal sensors located around the perimeter of theplanetary. Some of these sensors would indicate a rate increase offsetting thedecrease indicated by the sensor in the center and thereby reducing themeasurement error.
A fully configured MDC-370 can measure a maximum of six crystal sensors or
any combination of the six available sensor inputs. As with a single sensor
configuration, sensor head placement is very important. Ideally you will have one
sensor in the center of the chamber equal distance from the source as the planetary
at that point. Then, you should place at least three sensors spaced equally aroundthe perimeter of the planetary. It may help you to visualize the vapor distribution
if you use four equally spaced sensors around the perimeter. That way, when you
view the individual rates, you can easily see when the vapor distribution isunequal from side to side or front to back in relation to the chamber.
Each sensor has a tooling parameter to adjust the sensor's measured rate andthickness so that it corresponds to the rate and thickness deposited on thesubstrates.

10-4 THEORY OF OPERATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Each sensor also has a Weight factor so you can establish how much each sensor's
measurement affects the average rate and thickness. Each sensor's affect on the
average rate and thickness is the ratio of that sensor's weight divided by the total
weight for all enabled sensors. For example, if two sensors are enabled formeasurement with sensor #1 rate = 10.0 and its weight is set to 100.0 and sensor#2 rate = 20.0 and its weight = 200.0 thenAverage Rate = (10*100+20*200)/(100+200) = 16.67
Of course the same formula applies for the average thickness.
See section 4.3.2.1 for sensor tooling setup, sensor weight setup and details on
how to enable/disable sensors for measurement. Also see section 10.6.2 forsensor tooling calibration.
10.6 EMPIRICAL CALIBRATION
For many film materials the film density and acoustic impedance is known tosufficient accuracy that the values can be used directly, and empirical calibrationof these parameters is not necessary. A library of material names, density andacoustic impedance of the more commonly deposited materials is stored in the
MDC-370 memory. These materials are also listed in Table 9.1.
If the values of the density and acoustic impedance are not known they can becalibrated empirically as described below.
Calibration requires the establishment of the film density, the tooling factor andthe acoustic impedance in this order. If the approximate value of the parameters
is known they should be used initially. If the acoustic impedance is not known
use the value 8.83, the value for quartz.
10.6.1 FILM DENSITY

Establishing the film density can be accomplished by depositing a trial film on
several test substrates placed around and as close as possible to the sensor crystal
and in the same plane. The trial deposition should be thick enough to allow an
independent measurement of the film on the test substrates to be made withadequate precision using an optical interferometer or surface-measuring device.
When making the trial deposition, use a fresh crystal and remember to write down
the final thickness reading displayed by the MDC-370, as this will be needed in
the calculation. If the acoustic impedance parameter has been accurately
established previously, a fresh crystal is not required.
Determine the average film thickness on the test substrates and use the following
equation to calculate the material's density:
Density = (Displayed Thickness/Average Measured Thickness) * Density(test)
Where Density(test) is the density parameter setting used during the calibrationrun.
Once the calibration procedure is complete, the programmed film density iscorrect for this particular film.
THEORY OF OPERATION

10-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
10.6.2 TOOLING FACTOR

Having established the film density, the material and the sensor tooling factors
should be established next. For the MDC-370, it is typical to keep the material
tooling factor equal to 100% and only use the sensor tooling factors tocompensate for geometric factors in the deposition system which result in adifference between the deposition rate on the substrates and the rate on thesensing crystal. This way, each sensor's individual rate, as displayed in the
Source/Sensor Status Screen, will represent the rate on the substrates. This will
make it easy to identify any changes in the vapor distribution since all sensor
should display the same rate once calibrated.
To do the sensor calibration, place several test substrates at representative
locations in the deposition fixture and change the crystals in the sensors head orheads that you wish to calibrate for this material. Go to the material selection
menu and select the material you wish to calibrate. Set the material conditioning
parameters as well as the desired deposition rate if not set already. Also, enter theConfigure Sensors parameters to select which sensors will be used to measure thismaterial.
Next, scroll down to Calibrate Sensors and press the right arrow key to get to the
Calibrate Sensors screen. Enter the desired calibration thickness and press theStart key to start the calibration run. The calibration thickness should as thick or
thicker as you’re actual coatings.
Once started, the 370 will condition the source as programmed, open the source
shutter and deposit until the calibration thickness is reached as displayed in themain thickness display.
Once the calibration run is complete, determine the average film thickness on thetest substrates by using an alternate measurement device such as a surface
profilometer. Enter the measured substrate thickness in the Measured Thickness
field in the Calibration Screen and press Enter. The MDC-370 will calculate the
new tooling factors for all sensors enabled during calibration. The new sensor
tooling factors will be displayed in the NewTlng field in the calibration screen.
The 370 will then ask the user if the new tooling factors should be saved.
10.6.3 ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE

Establishment of the acoustic impedance requires that the crystal be heavily
loaded. Continue to deposit on the sensor crystal until the crystal healthapproaches 50% or until the crystal is approaching the end of its useful life.
Deposit another trial run as above but this time use the manual power mode
instead of the automatic mode. Measure the average film thickness on the test
substrates and this adjust the acoustic impedance parameter up or down to bring
the displayed thickness into agreement with the measured thickness. Thiscalibrates the acoustic impedance parameter.
The MDC-370 is now fully calibrated for the film in question and should produce
consistent and accurate films.

10-6 THEORY OF OPERATIONMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Table 10-1 Material Density and Acoustic Impedance Value
Material

SymbolDensity

Impedance

Aluminum
Aluminum Oxide
Antimony
Arsenic
BariumBeryllium
BismuthBoron
Cadmium
Cadmium Sulfide
Cadmium Telluride
Calcium
Calcium Fluoride
Carbon (Diamond)
Carbon (Graphite)
Chromium
CobaltCopperCopper (I) Sulfide (alpha)Copper (I) Sulfide (beta)
Copper (II) Sulfide
Dysprosium
ErbiumEuropium
Gadolinium
Gallium
Gallium Arsenide
GermaniumGold
Hafnium
Holnium
IndiumIndium Antimonide
Iridium
Iron
Lanthanum
Lead
Lead Sulfide
Lithium
Lithium Fluoride
Magnesium
Magnesium Fluoride
Magnesium Oxide

Al
Al2O3
Sb
As
Ba
Be
Bi
B
Cd
CdS
CdTe
Ca
CaF2
C
C
Cr
Co
Cu
Cu2S
Cu2S
CuS
Dy
Er
Eu
Gd
Ga
GaAs
Ge
Au
Hf
Ho
In
InSb
Ir
Fe
La
Pb
PbS
Li
LiF
Mg
MgF2
MgO

2.70
3.97
6.62
5.73
3.5
1.85
9.8
2.54
8.64
4.83
5.85
1.55
3.18
3.52
2.25
7.20
8.71
8.93
5.6
5.8
4.6
8.54
9.05
5.244
7.89
5.93
5.31
5.35
19.30
13.09
8.8
7.30
5.76
22.40
7.86
6.17
11.30
7.50
0.53
2.64
1.74
3.0
3.58

8.17
26.28
11.49
9.14
4.20
16.26
11.18
22.70
12.95
8.66
9.01
3.37
11.39
40.14
2.71
28.95
25.74
20.21
12.80
13.18
10.77
14.72
11.93
---13.18
14.89
5.55
17.11
23.18
24.53
15.2
10.50
11.48
68.45
25.30
9.59
7.81
15.60
1.50
11.41
5.48
13.86
21.48
THEORY OF OPERATION

10-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Manganese
Manganese (II) Sulfide
Mercury
Molybdenum
Nickel
Niobium
Palladium
Platinum
Potassium Chloride
Rhenium
Rhodium
Samarium
Scandium
Selenium
SiliconSilicon (II) Oxide
Silicon Dioxide (fused quartz)
SilverSilver Bromide
Silver Chloride
Sodium
Sodium Chloride
Strontium
Sulphur
Tantalum
Tantalum (IV) Oxide
Tellurium
Terbium
Thallium
Tin
Titanium
Titanium (IV) Oxide
TungstenTungsten Carbide
Uranium
Vanadium
Ytterbium
Yttrium
Zinc
Zinc Oxide
Zinc Selenide
Zinc Sulfide
Zirconium

10-8 THEORY OF OPERATION

Mn
MnS
Hg
Mo
Ni
Nb
Pd
Pt
KC
Re
Rh
Sm
Sc
Se
Si
SiO
SiO2
Ag
AgBr
AgCl
Na
NaCl
Sr
S
Ta
Ta2O5
Te
Tb
Tl
Sn
Ti
TiO2
W
WC
U
V
Yb
Y
Zn
ZnO
ZnS
ZnS
Zr

7.20
3.99
13.46
10.20
8.91
8.57
12.00
21.40
1.98
21.04
12.41
7.54
3.0
4.82
2.32
2.13
2.2
10.50
6.47
5.56
0.97
2.17
2.620
2.07
16.60
8.2
6.25
8.27
11.85
7.30
4.50
4.26
19.30
15.60
18.70
5.96
6.98
4.34
7.04
5.61
5.26
4.09
6.51

23.42
9.39
11.93
34.36
26.68
17.91
24.73
36.04
4.31
58.87
42.05
9.92
9.70
10.22
12.40
10.15
8.25
16.69
7.48
6.69
1.84
5.62
---3.86
33.70
29.43
9.81
13.38
5.70
12.20
14.06
22.07
54.17
58.48
37.10
16.66
7.81
10.57
17.18
15.88
12.23
11.39
14.72

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

11.

COMPUTER INTERFACE

11.1 GENERAL
The various computer interfaces of the Maxtek MDC-370 Deposition Controllers
permit complete remote control using a personal computer. There are three typesof computer interfaces offered. The MDC-370 comes standard with an RS-232
serial interface. Both RS-485 and IEEE-488 interfaces are available as options.
11.2 RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE
The standard RS-232 serial interface of the MDC-370 allows one 370 to beconnected to any other device with as RS-232 serial interface. There are twoconnections for the RS-232 interface port. A D9P connector is provided on therear panel for permanent connection to the host computer. The pin layout isshown in Figure 8-5 and Table 8-3 lists pin signal assignments, including adefinition of whether the signal is an output from the MDC-370 or an input to the
MDC-370.
A DJ11 jack located on the front panel is provided for temporary connection to
the host computer. Pin layout and pin signal assignments are shown in Figure
8-7 and Table 8-5.
The MDC-370 acts as DTE, and accordingly the 9-pin connector has ‘plug’ pins.
It should be connected to the host computer via a straight 9-pin female to 9-pin
female cable. Straight means pin 1 is connected to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, etc.
In the case where a special cable is required, remember to observe the sense of the
RxD/TxD data lines and the control lines. Pin 2 ‘TxD’ transmits data from the
MDC-370 to the host; pin 3 ‘RxD’ receives data from the host. Pin 7 ‘CTS’ is acontrol input signal, and pin 8 ‘RTS’ is a control output signal.
In this implementation, pin 7 ‘CTS’ means what is says, namely, this is an input
control line to the 370 which must be asserted ‘true’ before the 370 is clear tosend data to the host. Pin 8 ‘RTS’ is an output from the 370 indicating to the hostthat the 370 is ready to receive data from the host. The MDC-370 will always
assert RTS 'true' unless its input buffer is full from too much incoming data.
The MDC-370’s RS-232 port is automatically set up to operate with the following
specifications:
9600 Baud, 8 Bit data, No Parity, 1 Stop bit
11.3 RS-485 SERIAL INTERFACEThe optional RS-485 serial interface of the MDC-370 allows connection to up to
32 separate devices equipped with RS-485. The RS-485 serial interface is also
ideal in electrically noisy environments and in applications where long cables are
required. The RS-485 port of the MDC-370 is the same D9P connector on therear panel used for RS-232. The pin layout is shown in Figure 8-5 and Table 8-3

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
lists pin signal assignments, including a definition of whether the signal is an
output from the MDC-370 or an input to the MDC-370.
The DJ11 jack located on the front panel and labeled RS-232 cannot be used if
RS-485 is installed.
The MDC-370’s RS-485 port is automatically set up to operate with the following
specifications:
9600 Baud, 8 Bit data, No Parity, 1 Stop bit
11.4 IEEE-488 PARALLEL INTERFACEThe optional IEEE-488 interface provides the MDC-370 with the ability tocommunicate with computers and other devices over a standard IEEE-488
interface bus. The IEEE-488 interface, also known as GPIB or HPIB, provides aneight bit parallel asynchronous interface between up to 15 individual devices on
the same bus. This means that one computer equipped with an IEEE-488
interface card can communicate with up to 14 MDC-370 controllers or otherdevices.
The pin layout of the IEEE-488 port is shown in Figure 8-5 and Table 8-3 lists
pin signal assignments, including a definition of whether the signal is an output
from the MDC-370 or an input to the MDC-370.
Both of the RS-232 serial ports can still be used with IEEE-488 installed.
However, since both interfaces use the same input and output message buffers,
they should not be used at the same time. This will result in communication
errors.
11.5 PROTOCOLAll communications between the computer and the MDC-370 are in the form of
message character strings with the format:* Two byte header - FFh,FEhi.e. Chr$(255),Chr$(254)*One byte controller address - The controller address byte defines the controllerthat should receive the message, or should respond to the message by transmitting
data. The controller address will range from 0 to 32 (set via Edit System Setup,
Edit Utility Setup, Interface Address). A controller address of zero will bereceived by all controllers except in the case of the IEEE-488 interface. With thisinterface, only the addressed device will receive the message.
*One byte instruction code.
*One byte message length.
* 0-249 byte message.
* One byte checksum, for the instruction code byte, message length byte and the0-249 byte message.

11-2

COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
The checksum is the compliment of the one byte sum of all bytes from, andincluding, the instruction code to the end of the message. If the one byte sum of
all these bytes is added to the checksum, the result should equal 255.
If the sum of all bytes occupies more than one byte, a single byte checksum
can be generated using the expression: checksum=!(Sum MOD 256), i.e. thechecksum is the complement of the remainder byte which results from
dividing the sum of all bytes by 256.
11.6 DATA TYPES
There are three data types stored in the MDC-370: one byte, two byte, and threebyte parameters. All data types are stored as integers in binary format with themost significant byte first. The one byte data types are either ASCII characters,
numeric values (0-255), or 8 bit registers. Some of the multiple byte data types
are decimal values stored as integers. To convert these values to their decimalequivalent, use the following equation:
Decimal Value = (Integer Value)/(10*DP)
where DP is the value’s decimal point position. The decimal point positions for
all the parameters are constant and are given in tables along with the parameters’range.
11.7 MESSAGE RECEIVED STATUS
Following the receipt of each message, the controller will send a one-byte‘received status’ message, indicating how the message was received, with thefollowing format:
HeaderAddress
Inst=253
Length=2
Instruction Code
Receive code
Checksum
A value of 253 for the instruction byte indicates that this is a received status
message. The Instruction Code byte indicates the instruction code of the message
that was received. The following table shows a list of possible receive codes:
Receive Code
0
1
2
3
4

Description
Message received O.K.
Invalid checksum.
Invalid instruction code.
Invalid message length.
Parameter(s) out of range.

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
5678Invalid message.
Process undefined. Can’t add layer.
Insufficient layer space. Can’t add layer.
Can’t send process log data while in process.

11.8 INSTRUCTION SUMMARY
The following table is a list of valid instruction codes.
Instruction Code
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
11-4

COMPUTER INTERFACE

Description
Remote activation of controller
Send controller configuration parameters
Send utility parameters
Receive utility parameters
Send controller time and date
Receive controller time and date
Send a material
Receive a material
Send a material list
Send number of undefined layers
Send a process
Receive a process
Delete a process
Send a process layer
Insert process layer
Replace a process layer
Delete a process layer
Send a process list
Send source setup
Receive source setup
Send sensor setup
Receive sensor setup
Send Input setup
Receive Input setup
Send Output setup
Receive Output setup
Send Action setup
Receive Action setup
Send controller status
Start process
Send run-time values
Initiate automatic data logging
Internal Command
Set Active Source PowerInternal Command
Internal Command

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
36
37
38
39
40

Send Process Log Directory
Send Process Log Data
Initiate Remote Action Command
Send Individual Run-time Value Command
Enable/Disable the front panel keyboard

11.9 INSTRUCTION DESCRIPTIONS
The following is a description of all the valid instructions along with an exampleof how they are used. All the examples assume the controller address is 1.
1. Remote activation of controller (Code #0)
This instruction initiates a key press of the MDC-370’s keyboard. The valid key
codes are shown in the following table:
Remote Activation Code
1
2
4
8
16
32
64

Description
Program key
Manual key
Shutter key
Zero key
Reset key
Abort key
Start key

Format: Header, Instruction=1, Length=1, Key Code, Checksum
Example: To initiate a zero thickness instruction the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(8)+Chr$(246)
2. Send controller hardware configuration (Code #1)
Instructs the controller to send controller configuration data to the host computer.
The following is a description of the configuration data:
Name
Software Version
Source/Sensors Cards
I/O Ports
Communication Port
Data Log Storage

Length (bytes)
30
1
1
1
1
Total 34 bytes

Message
MDC-370 Software Version X.X(1, 2 or 3)(1 or 2)
(1=RS232, 2=RS-485, 3=IEEE488)(0=No, 1=Yes)

Example: To instruct the controller to send the hardware configuration data thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(254)
3. Send utility parameters (Code #2)

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-5

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Instructs the controller to send the utility parameters to the host computer. A
description of the utility parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
DAC#1 Output
DAC#1 Range
DAC#2 Output
DAC#2 Range
Thickness Graph Scale
Crystal Frequency

Length(bytes)
1
1
1
1
1
1

Data Points/min

1

Simulate Mode
Interface Address
Attention Volume
Alert Volume
Alarm Volume
Pause on layercomplete
Time To Go Display

1
1
1
1
1
1

Rate Graph
Power Graph
Thickness Graph
Rate Deviation Graph
Source/Sensor Status
I/O Status
Display Negatives
Sensor Status Display

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Total 22 bytes

1

Range
(22=Rate, 23=RateDev, 24=Pwr, 25=Thk)(26=2 Digit, 27=3 Digit)(22=Rate, 23=RateDev, 24=Pwr, 25=Thk)(26=2 Digit, 27=3 Digit)(26=2 Digit, 27=3 Digit)(30=2.5mhz, 31=3.0MHz, 32=5.0mhz,
33=6.0MHz, 34=9.0mhz, 35=10.0MHz)(38=30 ppm, 39=60 ppm, 40=120 ppm,
41=300 ppm, 42=600ppm)(20=Off, 21=On)(1-32)(0-10)(0-10)(0-10)(0=No, 1=Yes)(72=Estimated Layer, 73=Est. State,
74=Elapsed Process, 75=Elapsed Layer,
76=Elapsed State)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(78=Enabled, 79=Disabled)(80=Thickness, 81=Frequency)

Example: To instruct the controller to send the utility parameters the computer
would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(2)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(253)
4. Receive utility parameters (Code #3)
Instructs the controller to enter all the incoming utility parameters into memory.
5. Send controller time (Code #4)
Instructs the controller to send the current time and date to the host computer.
The time and date are sent as strings. A description of the time and dateparameter list is as follows:

11-6

COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Parameter Name
Seconds
MinutesHours
Day of month
Month
Year

Length (bytes)
2
2
2
2
2
2
Total 12 bytes

Range(0-59)(0-59)(1-23)(1-28/29/30/31)(1-12)(0-99)

Example: To instruct the controller to send the time and date the computer would
send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(4)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(251)

6. Receive time and date (Code #5)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming time and date into memory. The
values must be in the order, range, and format listed above.
7. Send a material (Code #6)
Instructs the controller to send all the material parameters for material # n to thehost computer. A description of the material parameter list is in the table below:
Parameter name
Material #Material Name
Source #Pocket #Rate Establish TimePower Alarm Delay
Sample Dwell %Ramp Start Thick% #1
Ramp Stop Thick% #1
Ramp Start Thick% #2
Ramp Stop Thick% #2
Ramp Start Thick% #3
Ramp Stop Thick% #3
Ramp Start Thick% #4
Ramp Stop Thick% #4
Sensor#1 Crystal FailSensor#1 Primary Crystal #Sensor#1 Backup Sensor #

Len
bytes
1
10
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Byte
Offset
0
1
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

1
1

25
26

Decimal Pt.
Range
Position*(0-31)
*
*
(1-6)
*
(1-8)
*
(0-99)*(0-99)*(0-99)
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
0-100
*
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
*
(1-8)
*
(1-6)

Units
None
ASCII
None
None
Seconds
Seconds
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%

None
None

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-7

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

11-8

Sensor#1 Backup Crystal #Sensor#2 Crystal Fail

1
1

27
28

*
*

Sensor#2 Primary Crystal #Sensor#2 Backup Sensor #Sensor#2 Backup Crystal #Sensor#3 Crystal Fail

1
1
1
1

29
30
31
32

*
*
*
*

Sensor#3 Primary Crystal #Sensor#3 Backup Sensor #Sensor#3 Backup Crystal #Sensor#4 Crystal Fail

1
1
1
1

33
34
35
36

*
*
*
*

Sensor#4 Primary Crystal #Sensor#4 Backup Sensor #Sensor#4 Backup Crystal #Sensor#5 Crystal Fail

1
1
1
1

37
38
39
40

*
*
*
*

Sensor#5 Primary Crystal #Sensor#5 Backup Sensor #Sensor#5 Backup Crystal #Sensor#6 Crystal Fail

1
1
1
1

41
42
43
44

*
*
*
*

Sensor#6 Primary Crystal #Sensor#6 Backup Sensor #Sensor#6 Backup Crystal #

1
1
1

45
46
47

*
*
*

COMPUTER INTERFACE(1-8)
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
(1-8)
(1-6)
(1-8)
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
(1-8)
(1-6)
(1-8)
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
(1-8)
(1-6)
(1-8)
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
(1-8)
(1-6)
(1-8)
2 = Not Used
3 = Disabled
4 = HaltLast
5 = Halt
6 = TimePwr
7 = Switch
(1-8)
(1-6)
(1-8)

None

None
None
None

None
None
None

None
None
None

None
None
None

None
None
None

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Material Density
Acoustic Impedance

2
2

48
50

2
2

80-9999
400-5999

Tooling Factor
Proportional gain
Integral Time constant
Derivative Time constant
Rise to Soak Time
Soak Power
Soak Time
Rise to Predeposit Time
Predeposit Power
Predeposit Time
Rate Establish Error %Deposition Rate #1
Deposition Rate #2
Deposition Rate #3
Deposition Rate #4
Deposition Rate #5
Time Setpoint
Ramp to Feed Time
Feed Power
Feed Time
Ramp to Idle Time
Idle Power
Maximum Power
Minimum Power
Rate Deviation Attention
Rate Deviation Alarm
Rate Deviation Abort
Sample Period
Sensor #1 ToolingSensor #1 Weight
Sensor #2 ToolingSensor #2 Weight
Sensor #3 ToolingSensor #3 Weight
Sensor #4 ToolingSensor #4 Weight
Sensor #5 ToolingSensor #5 Weight
Sensor #6 ToolingSensor #6 WeightMaterial password
Total

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
136

52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
102
104
106
108
110
112
114
116
118
120
122
124
126
128
130
132
bytes

1
*
1
1
*
1
*
*
1
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
*
*
1
*
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
*

100-4999
1-99990-999
0-999
0-359990-999
0-359990-359990-999
0-35999
0-999
0-99990-99990-99990-99990-99990-359990-359990-999
0-359990-35999
0-999
0-999
0-999
0-999
0-999
0-999
0-35999
100-4999
0-4999100-4999
0-4999100-4999
0-4999100-4999
0-4999100-4999
0-4999100-4999
0-4999N/A

0.01 gm/cm3
0.01
gm/cm2/sec
0.1%
None
0.1 Seconds
0.1 Seconds
Seconds
0.1%
Seconds
Seconds
0.1%
Seconds
0.1 Å/sec
0.1 Å/sec
0.1 Å/sec
0.1 Å/sec
0.1 Å/sec
0.1 Å/sec
Seconds
Seconds
0.1%
Seconds
Seconds
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
Seconds
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
ASCII

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-9

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER* - Indicates decimal point position is not applicable.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=6, Length=1, Material #(0-31), Checksum.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the parameter list for material #15 thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(6)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(15)+Chr$(233)
8. Receive a material (Code #7)
Instructs the controller to enter all the incoming material parameters for material #n into memory. The parameters must be in the same order and format as theabove material parameter list.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=7, Length=136, 1 byte, Material# (0-31),
135 bytes parameter data, Checksum.
9. Send material list (Code #8)
Instructs the controller to send a list of all material names in the order that they
are stored in the controller. The material list consists of 32 10 character material
names.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the material list the computer would
send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(8)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(247)
Since the MDC’s message length is limited to 249 bytes, the controller will returnthe material list in two messages. The first message will contain material names
1-16 and the second message will contain material names 17-32.
10. Send number of undefined layers (Code #9)
Instructs the controller to send the number of undefined layers to the hostcomputer.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=9, Length=0, Checksum.
Example: Send number of undefined layers instruction:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(9)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(246)
Controller will return a message with the following format:
Header, Address, Instruction=9, Length=2, #Lyrs(2 bytes), Checksum.
11. Send process (Code #10)
Instructs the controller to send all the process parameters for process# n to thehost computer. A description of the process parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name

Length (bytes)

Process #Process name
Edit Password
View/Run Password

1
12
4
4

11-10 COMPUTER INTERFACE

Decimal Pt.
Position
*
*
*
*

Range

Units

(0-98)
Characters
Characters
Characters

None
None
None
None

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Number of Layers
Total

2
23

*

(0-998)

None

bytes

All of the layer data for process #n will follow the above message. Since the
MDC-370’s message length is limited to 249 bytes, the controller will send thelayer data in from one up to 17 separate messages depending on the number oflayers in the process. Each message will contain from one to 60 layers. For
example, if the process contains 250 layers, the controller will send the layer datain five messages. The first four messages will have 60 layers and the last message
will have 10 layers. The format of the layer messages is as follows:
Parameter Name

Length (bytes)

Message Number
Layer # n Thickness
Layer # n Material #1
3
1

Decimal Pt.
Position
*
3
*

Range

Units

(1-17)(0-999900)(0-31)

None
Å
None

The message number is included as a safeguard to insure that the all messages arereceived and are in order.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the process parameters for process#15 the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(10)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(15)+Chr$(229)
12. Receive process (Code #11)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming parameters of process # n intomemory. A description of the process parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name

Length (bytes)

Process #Process Name
Edit Password
View/Run Password

1
12
4
4
Total 21 bytes

Decimal Pt.
Position
*
*
*
*

Range

Units

(0-98)
Character
Character
Character

None
None
None
None

Format: Header, Address, Instruction=11, Length=21, 1 byte process#(0-98), 12
byte Process name (ASCII), 4 byte Edit Password, 4 byte View/Run Password,
Checksum.
To modify process layers you must use the insert, replace, and delete processlayer instructions.
13. Delete process (Code #12)
Instructs the controller to delete process# n and its associated layers.
Example: To instruct the controller to delete process# 15 the computer would
send:
COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-11

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(12)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(15)+Chr$(227)
14. Send process layer (Code #13)
Instructs the controller to send the process layer parameters for process # n layer #y to the host computer. A description of the process layer parameter list is asfollows:
Parameter Name

Length (bytes)

Process #Layer #
Layer # n Thickness
Layer # n Material #12
3
1
Total 7 bytes

Decimal Pt.
Position
*
*
3
*

Range

Units

(0-98)(0-998)(0-999900)(0-31)

None
None
Å
None

Format: Header, Address, Instruction=13, Length=3, 1 byte Process #, 2 byte
Layer #, Checksum.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the process layer parameters forprocess #15 layer #5 the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(13)+Chr$(3)+Chr$(15)+Chr$(0)+C
hr$(5)+ Chr$(219)
15. Insert process layer (Code #14)
Instructs the controller to insert the incoming layer parameters of process # n in
front of layer # y adding the layer to the process. A description of the insert
process layer parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name

Length (bytes)

Process #Layer #
Layer # n Thickness
Layer # n Material #Decimal Pt.
Position
*
*
3
*

Range

1
(0-98)
2(0-998)3(0-999900)
1(0-31)
Total 7 bytes
If all of the layers are defined then the controller will respond with andinsufficient layer space error.
16. Replace process layer (Code #15)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming process layer parameters into
process # n layer # y. A description of the process layer parameter list is given
above.
Writing a layer to an undefined process results in an error. To define a process,use the Receive Process instruction.
17. Delete process layer (Code #16)
Instructs the controller to delete later # y from process # n.
11-12 COMPUTER INTERFACE

Units
None
None
Å
None

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=16, Length=3, 1 byte Process #(0-98), 2
byte Layer #(0-998), Checksum.
18. Send process list (Code #17)
Instructs the controller to send all process names in the order that they are stored
in the controller. The process list consists of 99 12 character process names.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the process list the computer would
send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(17)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(238)
Since the MDC’s message length is limited to 249 bytes, the controller will send
the process names in five separate messages. The first four messages will eachcontain 20 names and the last message will contain 19 names.
19. Send source setup (Code #18)
Instructs the controller to send the source setup parameter list for all sources. A
description of the source parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
Number of Pockets
Shutter Relay Type

Length(bytes)1
1

Control

1

Drive

1

Feedback input type1

Rotator Delay
Source voltage range

1
1

Shutter Delay

2
9

Total

Decimal Pt.
Range
Position*(1-8)*
44=Normally open,
45=Normally closed,
46=None*68=Direct,
69=BCD,
70=Indiv,
71=Manual*
60=Up,
61=Down,
62=Fast,63=Inline,
64=Sngl Step,
65=Dbl Step*
8 =Individual,
9=BCD,
10=Single Home,
11=In Position,
12=No Feedback*(0-99)*(16=2.5V, 17=5.0V,
18=10V)*(0-99) LSByte first
bytes

Units
None
None

None

None

seconds
Volts.1 secThere are a total of six sources with 9 bytes per source for a total of 54 bytes. All
54 bytes are sent in the same message starting with source #1.
COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-13

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Example: To instruct the controller to send the source setup parameter list thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(18)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(237)
20. Receive source setup (Code #19)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming source setup parameters intomemory. A description of the source setup parameter list is given above.
21. Send sensor setup (Code #20)
Instructs the controller to send the sensor setup parameter list for all sensors. A
description of the sensor parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
Number of crystals
Shutter Relay Type

Length(bytes)1
1

Control

1

Drive

1

Feedback input type1

Rotator Delay

1
6

Total

Decimal Pt.
Range
Position*(1-8)*
44=Normally open,
45=Normally closed,
46=None,47=Dual*
68=Direct,
69=BCD,
70=Indiv,
71=Manual*
60=Up,
61=Down,
62=Fast,63=Inline,
64=Sngl Step,
65=Dbl Step*
8 =Individual,
9=BCD,
10=Single Home,
11=In Position,
12=No Feedback*(0-99)
bytes

Units
None
None

None

None

Seconds

There are a total of six sensors with 6 bytes per sensor for a total of 36 bytes. All
36 bytes are sent in the same message starting with sensor #1.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the sensor setup parameter list thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(20)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(235)
22. Receive sensor setup (Code #21)

11-14 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming sensor setup parameters intomemory. A description of the sensor setup parameter list is given above.
23. Send Input setup (Code #22)
Instructs the controller to send the Input parameter list for Input #n. A descriptionof the Input parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
Input #Name
Type

Length (bytes)
1
162

Input True Level
Input Pin#01
Total 21 bytes

Allowable Range(0-15)All ASCII Characters
0 - 65535, least significant byte
first
Bit 7 of Card# (0 = Low, 1=High)
30-37

The Type parameter defines whether the input is undefined, user defined, orinternal. 0=Undefined, 65,535=user defined. All other types are internal and arecreated by the MDC for source pocket and sensor crystal position control.
When clearing an input you must set the type=0. When defining an input you
must set the type=65535 or FFh, ffH. Internal types should only be set by the
MDC.
Please note that bit 7 of the Input Card# byte represents the Input’s True level. If
bit 7 is set then the input is High level true. Or, if bit 7 is not set then the input is
Low level true.
Format: Header, Instruction=22, Length=1, Input #(0-15), Checksum
Example: To instruct the controller to send the I/O setup parameter list for I/O#15 the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(22)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(14)+Chr$(218)
24. Receive Input setup (Code #23)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming Input parameters for Input #n intomemory. A description of the Input parameter list is given above.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=23, Length=21,Input #(0-15),2 byte Type,
16 byte Name, 1 byte Card#, 1 byte Pin#, Checksum
25. Send Output setup (Code #24)
Instructs the controller to send the Output parameter list for Output #n. A
description of the Output parameter list is as follows:

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-15

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Parameter Name
Output #Name
TypeCondition String
I/O Card#
Output Pin#

Length (bytes)
1
16
2

Allowable Range(0-15)All ASCII Characters
0 - 65535, least significant
byte first
!|&()
1-2
2-9

24
1
1
Total 45 bytes
The Type parameter defines whether the output is undefined, user defined, orinternal. 0=Undefined, 65535=user defined. All other types are internal and arecreated by the MDC for source pocket and sensor crystal position control.

When clearing an output you must set the type=0. When defining an output you
must set the type=65535 or FFh, FFh. Internal types can only be set by the MDC.
The condition string is described in the program I/O section of the manual. The
allowable characters are ! | & ( ). The individual conditions are represented bynumbers. The conditions are 1, 2, or 3 bytes each. The first byte is the condition
number. The second and third byte, if any, are the sub-condition number. The
allowable conditions are listed in the following table:

11-16 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Condition NameController State
Input
OutputProcess
Material
SourcePocketSensorSoftnode
Sensor/Crystal
Layer
Timer #1-8
Abort
Halt
Hold
Time PowerReady
In Process
Simulate
Time Setpoint
Last Layer
Crystal Failure
Crystal Marginal
Min Rate&Max Pwr
Max Rate&Min Pwr
Rate Dev. Alarm
Rate Establish Error
Source Fault
Sensor Fault
Rate Deviation Alert
Max Power Alert
Min Power Alert
Rate Deviation Attention
Max Power Attention
Min Power Attention
Manual Power

Condition Number
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139-146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170

Sub-condition Range
0-25|
0-15
0-15
0-98
0-31
1-6
1-8
1-6
1-8
1-6,1-8, one byte
1-999, two bytes, MSByte first
1-9999, two bytes, MSByte first
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used

All condition strings must be terminated with a null (zero).
Format: Header, Instruction=24, Length=1, Output #(0-15), Checksum
Example: To instruct the controller to send the Output setup parameter list for
Output #15 the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(24)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(14)+Chr$(216)
COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-17

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
26. Receive Output setup (Code #25)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming Output parameters for Output #n intomemory. A description of the Output parameter list is given above.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=25, Length=45,Output #(0-15), 2 byte
Type, 16 byte Name, 24 byte Condition string,1 byte Card#, 1 byte pin#,
Checksum
27. Send Action setup (Code #26)
Instructs the controller to send the Action parameter list for Action #n. A
description of the Action parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
Action #Action Type
Condition String

Length (bytes)
Allowable Range
1(0-15)
1(0-20)
24!|&()
Total 26 bytes
Format: Header, Instruction=26, Length=1, Action #(0-15), Checksum
The action type defines the action that will be taken when the condition isevaluated as true. The following table contains the list of possible actions.
Action Name
No Action
Manual Power
Zero Thickness
Reset Process
Abort Process
Halt Process
Terminate Deposit
Hold In State
Step From StateSound Attention
Sound Alert
Sound Alarm
Start Process
Select Process 1-8
Switch Crystals
Start Timer #1-8
Start Timer #1-8
Set Softnode #1-8

Action Type
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13-20
21
22-29
22-29
30-37

Example: To instruct the controller to send the Action setup parameter list for
Action #14 the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(26)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(14)+Chr$(214)

11-18 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
28. Receive Action setup (Code #27)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming Action parameters for Action #n intomemory. A description of the Action parameter list is given above.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=27, Length=26,Action #(0-15),1 byte
Action Type, 24 byte condition, Checksum
29. Send controller status (Code #28)
Instructs the controller to send the controller status data list. A description of thecontroller status data list is as follows:
Parameter NameController state

Length(bytes)1

Abort Process Errors

1

Alarm 1 Errors

1

Range
0 = Process ready
1 = Start layer
2 = Change pocket
3 = Change crystal
4 = Layer ready
5 = Soak rise
6 = Soak hold
7 = Rise to Predeposit
8 = Predeposit hold
9 = Establish rate
10 = Shutter Delay
11 = Deposit #1
12 = Rate ramp #1
13 = Deposit #2
14 = Rate ramp #2
15 = Deposit #3
16 = Rate ramp #3
17 = Deposit #3
18 = Rate ramp #4
19 = Deposit #5
20 = Ramp to feed
21 = Feed hold
22 = Ramp to idle
23 = Layer complete
24 = Process complete
25 = Process resume
Bit 6 = Max Rate&Min Pwr
Bit 7 = Min Rate&Max Pwr
Bit 0 = Action Setup Corrupted
Bit 1 =Output Setup Corrupted
Bit 2 = Input Setup Corrupted
Bit 3 = Crystal Fail, Process Halted
Bit 4 = Rate Establish Error
Bit 5 = Active Layer Corrupted
Bit 6 = Active Process Corrupted
COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-19

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Alarm 2 Errors

1

Alert Errors

1

Attention 1 Errors

1

Attention 2 Errors

1

Discrete Input Register 1
Discrete Input Register 2
Discrete Output Register 1
Discrete Output Register 2
Controller Status 1

1
1
1
1
1

Controller Status 2

1

Source #1-6 Pocket

1x6

11-20 COMPUTER INTERFACE

Bit 7 = System Setup Corrupted
Bit 1 = No Sensor Enabled for Material
Bit 2 = Halt Process Action
Bit 3 = Sound Alarm Action
Bit 4 = Rate Deviation Alarm
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail, Time Power Mode
Bit 6 = Sensor Fault
Bit 7 = Source Fault
Bit 3 = Sound Alert Action
Bit 4 = Minimum Power Alert
Bit 5 = Maximum Power Alert
Bit 6 = Rate Deviation Alert
Bit 7 = Crystal Marginal&Deposit
Bit 0 = Process Complete
Bit 1 = Minimum Power Attention
Bit 2 = Maximum Power Attention
Bit 3 = Rate Deviation Attention
Bit 4 = Crystal Marginal&!In Process
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail&! In Process
Bit 6 = Crystal Marginal&In Process,SwitchBit 7 = Crystal Fail&In Process, Switch
Bit 1 = Sensor Calibration Done
Bit 2 = Not Sampling (Sample Mode)
Bit 3 = Manual Crystal Change
Bit 4 = Resume Process
Bit 5 = Sound Attention
Bit 6 = Manual Pocket Change
Bit 7 = Pause on Layer Complete
Bit 0 = Input #1, ... (0=False, 1=True)
Bit 0 = Input #9, ... (0=False, 1=True)
Bit 0 = Output #1, ... (0=False, 1=True)
Bit 0 = Output #9, ... (0=False, 1=True)
bit 0 = Ready Modebit 1 = Manual Modebit 2 = Time Power Modebit 3 = Hold Modebit 4 = Halt Modebit 5 = Abort Modebit 6 = Power Control Modebit 7 = In Process
bit 0 = Resume Process
bit 1 = Simulate Modebit 5 = Material Time Setpoint
bit 6 = Backup Sensor Active
bit 7 = Last Layer Of Process(1-8)

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Position
Source #1-6 Power
Sensor #1-6 Crystal
Position
Sensor #1-6 Crystal Health

2x6
1x6
1x6
Total 43
bytes

(0-4000), Power=99.9%*N/4000(1-8)(0-99)%

Format: Header, Address Instruction=28, Length=0, Checksum
Example: To instruct the controller to send the controller status the computer
would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(28)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(227)30. Start process (Code #29)
Instructs the controller to start process # n from starting layer # x.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=29, Length=3, Process #(0-98) 1byte,
Starting layer #(1-999) 2 bytes, Checksum.
Example: To instruct the controller to start process # 5 on layer # 10 thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(29)+Chr$(3)+Chr$(4)+Chr$(0)+Ch
r$(9)+Chr$(210)31. Send run-time values (Code #30)
Instructs the controller to send the run-time value list. A description of the runtime value list is as follows:

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-21

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Value Description
Power
Average Thickness
Average Rate
Active Crystal Health
Layer number
Rate deviation
Active process number
Active material number
Active source number
Sensor #1-6 Rate
Sensor #1-6 Thickness
Sensor #1-6 Crystal Position
Sensor #1-6 Crystal Health
Source #1-6 Pocket Position
Layer Time To GoState Time To Go
Elapsed Process Time
Elapsed Layer Time
Elapsed State Time
Source #1-6 Status

Length(bytes)
4
5
4
2
3
4
1
1
1
4x6
5x6
1x6
2x6
1x6
7
7
7
7
7
1x6

Sensor #1-6 Status

1x6

Controller State
Abort Process Errors

1
1

Alarm 1 Errors

1

11-22 COMPUTER INTERFACE

FormatUnits

StringStringStringStringStringStringString (0-98)
String (0-31)
String (1-6)
StringStringString (1-8)
String (0-99)
String (1-8)
StringStringStringStringString
Bit 0 = Shutter
Bit 1 = Rotator Drive Up
Bit 2 = Rotator Drive Down
Bit 0 = Shutter
Bit 1 = Rotator Drive Up
Bit 2 = Rotator Drive Down
Bit 3 = Enabled
Bit 5 = Failed
Binary (0-25)
Bit 6 = Max Rate&Min Pwr
Bit 7 = Min Rate&Max Pwr
Bit 0 = Action Setup
Corrupted
Bit 1 =Output Setup
Corrupted
Bit 2 = Input Setup Corrupted
Bit 3 = Crystal Fail, Process
HaltedBit 4 = Rate Establish Error
Bit 5 = Active Layer
Corrupted
Bit 6 = Active Process
Corrupted
Bit 7 = System Setup
Corrupted

%
KÅ
Å/sec
%
None
%

Å/sec
KÅ
%
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Alarm 2 Errors

1

Alert Errors

1

Attention 1 Errors

1

Attention 2 Errors

1

Controller Status 1

1

Bit 1 = No Sensor Enabled forMaterial
Bit 2 = Halt Process Action
Bit 3 = Sound Alarm Action
Bit 4 = Rate Deviation Alarm
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail, TimePower Mode
Bit 6 = Sensor Fault
Bit 7 = Source Fault
Bit 3 = Sound Alert Action
Bit 4 = Minimum Power Alert
Bit 5 = Maximum PowerAlert
Bit 6 = Rate Deviation Alert
Bit 7 = Crystal
Marginal&Deposit
Bit 0 = Process Complete
Bit 1 = Minimum Power
Attention
Bit 2 = Maximum Power
Attention
Bit 3 = Rate Deviation
Attention
Bit 4 = Crystal Marginal&!In
Process
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail&! In
Process
Bit 6 = Crystal Marginal&In
Process, Switch
Bit 7 = Crystal Fail&In
Process, Switch
Bit 1 = Sensor Calibration
Done
Bit 2 = Not Sampling (Sample
Mode)
Bit 3 = Manual Crystal
ChangeBit 4 = Resume Process
Bit 5 = Sound Attention
Bit 6 = Manual Pocket
ChangeBit 7 = Pause on Layer
Complete
bit 0 = Ready Modebit 1 = Manual Modebit 2 = Time Power Modebit 3 = Hold ModeCOMPUTER INTERFACE 11-23

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Controller Status 2

1

bit 4 = Halt Modebit 5 = Abort Modebit 6 = Power Control Modebit 7 = In Process
bit 0 = Resume Process
bit 1 = Simulate Modebit 5 = Material Time Setpoint
bit 6 = Backup Sensor Active
bit 7 = Last Layer Of Process

Total 161
bytes
All string values are in ASCII format including decimal points and colons where
needed.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the run-time value list the computer
would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(30)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(225)
32. Initiate Automatic Data Logging (Code #31)
This operation allows the computer to setup the MDC-370 to automatically output
selected run-time values to the computer port every 100 milliseconds. The values
sent are set by the message bytes sent to the controller to initiate data logging.
Each value can be selected to be sent by setting its corresponding bit = 1. All
values with a bit setting = 0 will not be sent.
The run-time values available to be sent are the same as in the Send run-timevalues instruction above. The difference is that this instruction allows you toselect which values to send and once selected, the values are sent automatically
until the next Initiate data logging instructions or the controller power is removed.

11-24 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Byte #
1

2

3

4

5

6

Bit #
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0-7

Description
Power
Thickness
Deposition rate
Crystal health
Layer number
Rate deviation
Active Process
Active Material
Active Source
Sensor #1 Rate
Sensor #2 Rate
Sensor #3 Rate
Sensor #4 Rate
Sensor #5 Rate
Sensor #6 Rate
Sensor #1 Thickness
Sensor #2 Thickness
Sensor #3 Thickness
Sensor #4 Thickness
Sensor #5 Thickness
Sensor #6 Thickness
Sensors #1-6 Crystal Position
Sensor #1 HealthSensor #2 HealthSensor #3 HealthSensor #4 HealthSensor #5 HealthSensor #6 Health
Sources #1-6 Pocket Position
Layer Time To GoState Time To Go
Elapsed Process Time
Elapsed Layer Time
Elapsed State Time
Sources #1-6 Status bits
Sensors #1-6 Status bits
Controller State
Trouble Flags
Controller Status
UnusedUnusedLength(bytes)
4
5
4
2
3
4
2
2
1
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
2
2
2
2
2
2
6
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
1
6
2
0
0

FormatStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringString

Units
%
KÅ
Å/sec
%
None
%

Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
%
%
%
%
%
%
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss

BinaryCOMPUTER INTERFACE 11-25

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
All string values are in ASCII format including decimal points and colons where
needed. See send run-time values (Code #30) above for details on thesource/sensors status, controller trouble and controller mode bits.
For example, to instruct the MDC to output rate and power the computer would
send the following message:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(31)+Chr$(6)+Chr$(5)+Chr$(0)+Ch
r$(0)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(213)
Sending the following message stops data logging:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(31)+Chr$(6)+Chr$(0)+ Chr$(0)+Chr$(0)+ Chr$(0)+ Chr$(0)+ Chr$(0)+Chr$(218)
33. Internal Command
34. Set Active Source Power (Code #33)
Instructs the controller to enter the incoming source power value into the active
source power. This command only works if the controller is in the manual power
control mode. A description of the manual power parameter list is as follows:
Parameter Name
Source Power

Length (bytes)
2
Total 2 bytes

Allowable Range(0-999) units are 0.1%

For example, to set the source power to 50% the computer would send thefollowing message:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(33)+Chr$(2)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(244)+
Chr$(231)
35. Internal Command
36. Internal Command
37. Send Process Log Directory (Code #36)
Instructs the controller to send the process log directory to the host computer.
This command is only valid on controllers with the internal data log storage
option installed. The process log directory consists of 16 individual process logs.
The data format of a process log is listed in the following table:
Parameter Name
Process Log Name
Process Run Number
Starting Time

Length (bytes)
122
3Starting Date

3

Completion Time3

11-26 COMPUTER INTERFACE

Allowable Range
All ASCII Characters(1-9999)(00:00:00-23:59:59)
HH:MM:SS(01/01/00-12/31/99)
MM:DD:YY(00:00:00-23:59:59)
HH:MM:SS

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Completion Status

1

Data Points/Minute1

Starting Layer Number
Ending Layer Number

2
2
Total 29 bytes(0=Normal, 1=Aborted,
2=Running, 3=Overrun)(38=30ppm, 39=60ppm,
40=120ppm, 41=300ppm,
42=600ppm)(0-999)(0-999)The time and date data is in an unpacked BCD format. The four most significant
bits of a byte is the first digit’s value and the four least significant bits is thesecond digit’s value. For example, a byte value of 41 decimal equates to a first
digit of 2 and a second digit of 9. The 2 comes from the four MSbits and the 9comes from the four LSbits of the byte.
The process run number and the starting and ending layer numbers are in thenormal MSbyte first BCD format.
If the first byte of the process name of any process log is equal to 255 then thatlog is considered blank.
Since the MDC’s message length is limited to 249 bytes, the controller will send
the process log directory data in two separate 232 byte messages. The firstmessage will contain the first eight logs and the second message will contain thelast eight logs.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the process log directory thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(36)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(219)
38. Send Process Log Data (Code #37)
Instructs the controller to send the process log data for log #n and layer #y to thehost computer. This command is only valid on controllers with the internal datalog storage option installed. The process log number can range from 1-16 and thelayer number can range from 1 to 999. Trying to read an empty process log or alayer that doesn’t exist will result in parameter out of range error. The layer data
for a process log is sent in two message types. The first type holds the layermaterial name and the number of data point sets stored. The second type holds
the data point set data. The following table shows the data format of the layermaterial message type:

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-27

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Parameter Name
Layer Material Name
Number of Data Point Sets

Length (bytes)
102
Total 12 bytes

Allowable Range
All ASCII Characters(1-27,000)

Following the above message will be a number of messages containing the data
point set data. The following table shows the data format of the data point set
message type for one data point set:Parameter Name
Message Number
Thickness
Rate
Power
Rate Deviation

Length (bytes)
2
3
3
2
2
Total 12-242 bytes

Units
1-1125
Angstroms
0.1 Angstroms/second
0.1 %
0.1 %

Since the MDC’s message length is limited to 249 bytes, a data point set message
will contain up to 24 data point sets for a total of 242 bytes. The controller will
send as many messages as needed to complete the process log layer. To
determine the number of messages to expect, you just divide the number of data
point sets by 24. And, if there are any left over, then add one more to the result.
Very long layers can result in over 1000 messages, which will take up to two
minutes to send. This last message will contain the remaining data point sets tocomplete the layer. A message number is included in each message to ensure that
all messages are received and are in order.
Format: Header, Address=1, Instruction=37, Length=3, 1 byte Log#(1-16), 2 byte
Layer#(1-999), Checksum
Example: To instruct the controller to send the layer 1 of process log 5 thecomputer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(37)+Chr$(3)+Chr$(5)+Chr$(0)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(209)
39. Remote activation of controller (Code #38)
This instruction initiates a remote action. The possible actions are shown in thefollowing table:

11-28 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
Remote Action Code
0
1
2
3
6
5
6
7
8

Description
Sound Alarm Action
Sound Alert Action
Sound Attention Action
Step From State Action
Clear Hold in State Action
Set Hold in State Action
Terminate Deposit Action
Halt Process Action
Switch Crystals

Action Trigger Type
Momentary
Momentary
Momentary
One ShotContinuous
Continuous
One Shot
One Shot
One ShotAll the momentary actions trigger the action for a 100-millisecond period for eachmessage received. The one shot actions trigger the action once for each message
received. For example, sending one step from state message would cause thecontroller to step into the next state one time. The continuous actions trigger that
action indefinitely. So the set hold in state action will cause the controller to holdin the current state until the clear hold in state action is received and the exit state
condition is meet.
Format: Header, Address=1, Instruction=38, Length=1, Action Code (08), Checksum
Example: To initiate a terminate deposit action the computer would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(38)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(6)+Chr$(210)40. Send run-time values (Code #39)
Instructs the controller to send one run-time value base on the value# received.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=39, Length=1, value #(0-39) 1 byte, 1 byte
Checksum.
A description of the run-time value list is as follows:

COMPUTER INTERFACE 11-29

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER#

Value Description

Len

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Power
Average Thickness
Average Rate
Active Crystal Health
Layer number
Rate deviation
Active process number
Active material number
Active source number
Sensor #1 Rate
Sensor #2 Rate
Sensor #3 Rate
Sensor #4 Rate
Sensor #5 Rate
Sensor #6 Rate
Sensor #1 Thickness
Sensor #2 Thickness
Sensor #3 Thickness
Sensor #4 Thickness
Sensor #5 Thickness
Sensor #6 Thickness
Sensor #1-6 Crystal
Position
Sensor #1 Crystal
HealthSensor #2 Crystal
HealthSensor #3 Crystal
HealthSensor #4 Crystal
HealthSensor #5 Crystal
HealthSensor #6 Crystal
HealthSource #1-6 Pocket
Position
Layer Time To GoState Time To Go
Elapsed Process Time
Elapsed Layer Time
Elapsed State Time
Source #1-6 Status

4
5
4
2
3
4
1
1
1
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
1x6

StringStringStringStringStringStringString (0-98)
String (0-31)
String (1-6)
StringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringStringString (1-8)

%
KÅ
Å/sec
%
None
%

2

String (0-99)%

2String (0-99)%

2String (0-99)%

2String (0-99)%

2String (0-99)%

2String (0-99)%

1x6String (1-8)

7
7
7
7
7
1x6

StringStringStringStringString
Bit 0 = Shutter

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34

11-30 COMPUTER INTERFACE

Format

Units

Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
Å/sec
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ
KÅ

h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss
h:mm:ss

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

34 Sensor #1-6 Status

1x6

35 Controller State
36 Abort Process Errors

1
1

Alarm 1 Errors

1

Alarm 2 Errors

1

Alert Errors

1

Attention 1 Errors

1

Bit 1 = Rotator Drive Up
Bit 2 = Rotator Drive Down
Bit 0 = Shutter
Bit 1 = Rotator Drive Up
Bit 2 = Rotator Drive Down
Bit 3 = Enabled
Bit 5 = Failed
Binary (0-25)
Bit 6 = Max Rate&Min Pwr
Bit 7 = Min Rate&Max Pwr
Bit 0 = Action Setup Corrupted
Bit 1 =Output Setup Corrupted
Bit 2 = Input Setup Corrupted
Bit 3 = Crystal Fail, Process
HaltedBit 4 = Rate Establish Error
Bit 5 = Active Layer Corrupted
Bit 6 = Active Process
Corrupted
Bit 7 = System Setup
Corrupted
Bit 1 = No Sensor Enabled forMaterial
Bit 2 = Halt Process Action
Bit 3 = Sound Alarm Action
Bit 4 = Rate Deviation Alarm
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail, TimePower Mode
Bit 6 = Sensor Fault
Bit 7 = Source Fault
Bit 3 = Sound Alert Action
Bit 4 = Minimum Power Alert
Bit 5 = Maximum Power Alert
Bit 6 = Rate Deviation Alert
Bit 7 = Crystal
Marginal&Deposit
Bit 0 = Process Complete
Bit 1 = Minimum Power
Attention
Bit 2 = Maximum Power
Attention
Bit 3 = Rate Deviation
Attention
Bit 4 = Crystal Marginal&!In
Process
Bit 5 = Crystal Fail&! In
ProcessCOMPUTER INTERFACE 11-31

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Attention 2 Errors

1

Controller Status 1&2

1x1

Bit 6 = Crystal Marginal&In
Process, Switch
Bit 7 = Crystal Fail&In
Process, Switch
Bit 1 = Sensor Calibration
Done
Bit 2 = Not Sampling (Sample
Mode)
Bit 3 = Manual Crystal Change
Bit 4 = Resume Process
Bit 5 = Sound Attention
Bit 6 = Manual Pocket Change
Bit 7 = Pause on Layer
Complete
bit 0 = Ready Modebit 1 = Manual Modebit 2 = Time Power Modebit 3 = Hold Modebit 4 = Halt Modebit 5 = Abort Modebit 6 = Power Control Modebit 7 = In Process
byte#2
bit 0 = Resume Process
bit 1 = Simulate Modebit 5 = Material Time Setpoint
bit 6 = Backup Sensor Active
bit 7 = Last Layer Of Process

All string values are in ASCII format including decimal points and colons where
needed.
Example: To instruct the controller to send the layer number value, the computer
would send:
Chr$(255)+Chr$(254)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(39)+Chr$(1)+Chr$(5)+Chr$(210)
The 370 will return the layer number as a three byte string.
41. Enable/Disable the front panel keyboard (Code #40)
Instructs the controller to either enable or disable the MDC-370's front panel keys
based on the value received. A value of 255 disables the keys. Any other value
will enable the keys.
Format: Header, Address, Instruction=40, Length=1, value #(0,255) 1byte,
Checksum.

11-32 COMPUTER INTERFACEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

12.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

12.1 HANDLING PRECAUTIONS
Integrated Circuits (I.C.’s) can be damaged by static discharge into their inputs.
This static discharge is the same phenomenon that produces the unpleasant shock
when one grabs a doorknob after walking across a carpet. The likelihood of staticbuildup is proportional to the dryness of the air and can be particularly
troublesome in cold, dry climates, or hot desert climates.
In order to minimize the chance of discharging body charge into the I.C. inputs,
always handle circuit boards by the edge, avoiding contact with the connector
area. When moving a board from one surface or work area to another surface orwork area, always personally touch the new surface or location before laying
down or inserting the board so that you, the board, and the surface, or equipment,
are all at the same potential. It is wise in dry climates to minimize the amount of
movement when handling or replacing I.C.’s in circuit boards. When handing acircuit board or I.C. to another person, always touch the person first.
Wood or paper surfaces are the most forgiving surfaces to work on. Plastic
should be avoided. Metal is O.K. as long as the metal is always touched with thehand prior to laying down the I.C.’s or circuit boards.
P.C. boards or I.C.’s should never be placed in plastic bags unless they are of the
conductive plastic type intended for this use. These bags are typically black orpink and are normally labeled as conductive or anti-static. If no conductive
plastic bags are available, boards or I.C.’s can be wrapped in paper, and thenplaced in plastic bags or shipping bags.
If the above precautions are observed, the chance of damage will be minimal andno problems should be encountered.
12.2 MAINTENANCE PHILOSOPHYThe MDC-370 was designed around a maintenance philosophy of board
replacement. Field repair at the component level is not recommended and indeed
can void the warranty. The following sections are intended primarily as an aid inunderstanding the operation of the MDC-370 and to help in isolating problems tothe board level.
All electronic components, with the exception of the power supply transformer,
are mounted on plug-in assemblies for ease of removal and replacement. The
circuitry is partitioned among plug-in modules on a functional basis to make fault
isolation to the plug-in assembly level as straightforward as possible.
Most problems can be diagnosed to the board level without external test
equipment and verified by simple board replacement.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

12-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

CAUTION
Remove AC line power before disassembling the controller to avoid
electrical shock.
12.3

TROUBLE SHOOTING AIDS
Symptom
Possible Cause
Unit blows line fuse.
a) Line voltage selection card is notinstalled to agree with line voltage
being used.
b) Incorrect fuse size.
c) Shorted rectifiers in power supply
area.
d) Shorted transformer or filter
capacitor.
Front Panel display never illuminates. a) Blown fuse.
b) Faulty clock generator (High Speed
Counter board)
Parameter/Status display shows aa) Contrast level is set too low.
blank blue screenb) Bad Front Panel Logic board.
c) Bad LCD display.
“Crystal Failure” message flashesa) Defective cable or cables.
with selected sensor properlyb) Defective or overloaded sensor
connected.
crystal.
c) Oscillator unit connected in thewrong direction.
d) Bad Oscillator unit.
No control voltage while monitoringa) Cable/connector miswired or
output of selected Source/Sensor bd.
shorted. (Source/Sensor board)b) Bad Source/Sensor board.
Front panel control keys nona) Defective membrane keys
functional.
b) Bad Front Panel Logic board
Unit does not retain programmed data a) “Power up” or “Power down”
in memory.
sequencing circuit malfunctioning.
b) “RAM Power” switching circuit
not functioning.
c) Aged or defective batteries.
d) Bad Main Processor board.
The unit fails to activate externallya) Faulty Relay (Discrete I/O board)
controlled devices (Shutters,b) Bad Discrete I/O board.
solenoids, etc.)
Unable to remotely control the unita) Improperly wired cable/connector.
via Discrete I/O inputs.
b) Inputs not properly grounded.
c) Bad Discrete I/O board.
Unable to manually control the source a) Controller is not in Manual mode.
12-2 REPAIR AND MAINTENANCEMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
power through the Remote Power
Handset.

Faulty DAC outputs.

b) Controller is in Abort mode.
c) Faulty Remote Power Handset.
d) Bad connection from the ManualControl connector to the Main bd.
a) Improper DAC wiring.
b) External recording device puts
excessive load on the DAC.

For further assistance, call (562) 906-1515.
12.4 RETURNING THE MDC-370 TO THE FACTORY
If there is a need to return your controller to the factory, please call Maxtek toobtain a Returned Merchandise Authorization Number (RMA#). This number isrequired prior to returning your controller to the factory. You are required toshow this RMA number on your shipping document. It will help us track andensure proper actions will be made to your controller.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

12-3

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

13.

APPENDIX A

Table 13-1 Source Control Cable Color Code - (4 pin Mini DIN)
Pin Number
Color
Signal1
Black
Source 2 or 4 control
2
Green
Source 2 or 4 return3
Red
Source 1 or 3 return4
Brown or White ***Source 1 or 3 control*** Note: This color code varies depending on the manufacturer. It is coded
BROWN in a 4-conductor cable and WHITE in a 7-conductor cable.
BROWN
or
WHITE

RED

GREEN

BLACK

Figure 13-1 Plug pin out - Source cable connector

APPENDIX A 13-1

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

Table 13-2 DAC Cable Color Code - (7 pin Mini DIN)
Pin Number
Color
Signal1
Black
DAC output #1
2
Green
DAC output #1 return
3
Red
DAC output #2
4
Brown
DAC output #2 return5
Blue
Zero Scale
6
White
Full Scale
7
Yellow
GroundWHITEBLUE
YELLOW

RED
BLACK
Figure 13-2 Plug pin out - DAC cable connector

13-2 APPENDIX A

BROWN
GREEN

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.

APPENDIX B – PARAMETER TEMPLATESThe following pages are blank templates, provided to manually archive the MDC370’s parameters.

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.1

MATERIAL

Material Number
Material Name
Sensor #Crystal #Source #Pocket #Material Density
Acoustic ImpedanceTooling Factor
Proportional gain
Integral Time constant
Derivative Time constant
Rise to Soak Time
Soak Power
Soak Time
Rise to Predeposit Time
Predeposit Power
Predeposit Time
Rate Establish Time
Rate Establish Error
Deposition Rate 1
Rate Ramp Start 1
Rate Ramp Stop 1
Deposition Rate 2
Rate Ramp Start 2
Rate Ramp Stop 2
Deposition Rate 3
Rate Ramp Start 3
Rate Ramp Stop 3
Deposition Rate 4Rate Ramp Start 4
Rate Ramp Stop 4
Deposition Rate 5
Time Setpoint
Ramp to Feed Time
Feed Power
Feed Time
Ramp to Idle Time
Idle PowerSYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
MATERIAL CONT’D
Maximum PowerMax Power Alarm Delay
Minimum Power
Rate Deviation Attention
Rate Deviation Alarm
Rate Deviation Abort
Sample Dwell %Sample Period
Crystal Fail
Backup Sensor #Backup Crystal #Backup Tooling Factor
Material Password

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.2

PROCESS

Page ___ of ___Process Number
Process Name
Edit password
Run/View password
Layer #SYSTEM:

Material
Thickness (kÅ)

ENTERED BY:

Material Name

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.3

DISPLAY SETUP
 Yes

 No

Display Negatives

 Enabled Disabled

Thickness Graph Scale 2 Digit

 3 Digit

Pause On Layer Complete

Time To Go Display

SYSTEM: Estimated State Elapsed Process Elapsed Layer
 Elapsed State Estimated Layer

Rate Graph Enabled DisabledPower Graph Enabled Disabled

Thickness Graph Enabled Disabled

Rate Dev. Graph Enabled Disabled

Source/Sensor Status

 Enabled Disabled

I/O Status

 Enabled Disabled

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.4

INPUTS

Input Input Name#

SYSTEM:

True/Logic Card #

1

 LOW
 HIGH2

 LOW
 HIGH3

 LOW
 HIGH

4

 LOW
 HIGH

5

 LOW
 HIGH

6

 LOW
 HIGH

7

 LOW
 HIGH8

 LOW
 HIGH

9

 LOW
 HIGH10

 LOW
 HIGH11

 LOW
 HIGH12

 LOW
 HIGH13

 LOW
 HIGH

14

 LOW
 HIGH15

 LOW
 HIGH16

 LOW
 HIGH

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

Pin #Return
Pin #

DATE:

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.5

OUTPUTS

Output Output Name#

Conditions

Card #

Pin #

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:ReturnPin #MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.6

ACTIONS

Output #Action Name

Conditions

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.7

SENSOR SETUP

Sensor #

 1

 2

 3

 4

Number of Crystals

 1
 5

 2
 6

 3
 7

 4
 8

Shutter Relay Type

 N.O.

Control
Drive
Feedback Type N.C.

 DUAL MANUAL DIRECT
 BCD
 INDIV.
 UP  DOWN  FAST  INLINE
 SNGL STEP  DBL STEP NO FEEDBACK INDIVIDUAL
 BCD
 SINGLE HOME
 IN POSITION

Rotator Delay (sec)

14.8

SOURCE SETUP

Source #

 1

 2

 3

 4

Number of Pockets

 1
 5

 2
 6

 3
 7

 4
 8

Shutter Relay Type

 N.O.

 N.C.

Shutter Delay (sec)Control
Drive
Feedback Type MANUAL DIRECT
 BCD
 INDIV.
 UP  DOWN  FAST  INLINE
 SNGL STEP  DBL STEP NO FEEDBACK INDIVIDUAL
 BCD
 SINGLE HOME
 IN POSITION

Rotator Delay (sec)
Source Voltage

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

 2.5V 5V

APPROVED BY:

 10V

DATE:

MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

14.9

DAC SETUPDAC Output #1

 RateDAC Scale #1
DAC Output #2

 RateDAC Scale #2

 Rate Dev.

 Power Thickness

 3 Digit

 2 Digit Rate Dev.

 Power

 3 Digit

 2 Digit

 Thickness

14.10 UTILITY SETUP
Crystal Frequency

 2.5

 3.0

Simulate Mode

 5.0

6.0

9.0

10.0

 On

 Off

 300

 600

Interface Address(1-32)
Attention Volume(0-10)
Alert Volume (0-10)
Alarm Volume (0-10)
Data Points/Min(ppm)

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

 30

 60

 120

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

15.

INDEX
A

alpha characters, entering, 4-2
automatic crystal switching. See crystal
switchingC
computer interface, 11-1
data types, 11-3
IEEE-488 parallel interface, 11-2
instruction descriptions, 11-5
instruction summary, 11-4
message received status, 11-3
protocol, 11-2
RS-232 serial interface, 11-1
RS-485 serial interface, 11-1
contrast, 2-4, 4-3
control loop, tuning, 6-1
establishing control loop parameters,
6-3
copying and deleting, 4-2
crystal failure, 3-4
Crystal Health, 2-2, 10-3
crystal switching, 4-12
D
DAC (Digital to Analog Converter)
bench checkout, 3-5communications, send utility
parameters, 11-6
input characteristics, 7-2
interface cable description, 8-3
menu, DAC Output, 4-42
menu, DAC Scale, 4-42
menu, EDIT DAC SETUP, 4-41
output characteristics, 7-2
output circuit schematic, 7-6
plug pin out, 13-2
setup, 4-4
socket connector pin out, 8-6
specification, recorder outputs, 1-6
troubleshooting, 12-3
deposit state, 3-4, 4-21
SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

display
Crystal Health, 2-2
Layer Number, 2-1
Power, 2-1
Rate, 2-1
Thickness, 2-1
Time Display, 2-2
display setup, 4-11E
empirical calibration, 10-5F
front panel, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-6, 4-25, 8-1,
8-2, 11-1, 11-2, 11-32
G
getting started. See programming
sequencegraph displays, 5-3graphics display, 1-2, 2-2
ground lug, 8-2
I
input, output and action setup, 4-10
input/output characteristics, 7-1
digital-to-analog converter control
inputs, 7-2
digital-to-analog converter outputs, 72
discrete inputs, 7-2
discrete outputs, 7-2
sensor input, 7-1
source control voltage output, 7-1
installation, controller, 8-1
external connections, 8-1
mounting, 8-1
proper grounding, 8-1
installation, system, 9-1
instrumentation feedthrough, 9-3
sensor crystal replacement. See sensor
crystal replacement
sensor head description, 9-1

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
sensor head installation, 9-2
sensor oscillator, 9-2
typical system installation, 9-4
installing option boards. See option
boardsinternal data storage, 5-5, 5-6
Mmanual key. See manual operation
manual operation, 3-4
material setup, 4-11
menu structure. See navigating the menu
structuremodes, 5-7
abort, 5-7
halt (soft abort), 5-8
in process, 5-8
manual, 5-8
not sampling, 5-8
process complete, 5-8
process ready, 5-7
simulate, 5-8N
navigating the menu structure, 4-1
O
operating keys, 2-2, 5-7
Abort, 2-3
Alphanumeric Keyboard, 2-5
Arrow, 2-4Graph, 2-4
Manual, 2-2
Program, 2-4
Reset, 2-3
Shutter, 2-3Start, 2-3
Status, 2-4
Zero, 2-3
optical monitor termination, 4-10
option boards, 3-4
I/O board, 3-5
IEEE-488 option board, 3-5
source-sensor board, 3-5
overshoot. See thickness overshoot

12 INDEXPParameter/Status display, 2-2, 2-4, 3-1,
4-3, 4-22, 4-35, 5-1, 5-7, 12-2
password protection, 4-2
edit material password, 4-3
edit process password, 4-3
view/run process password, 4-3
pause on layer complete, 4-11, 4-25
power ramp, 4-12
process setup, 4-13
programming sequence, 4-4
programming, detailed, 4-14
edit DAC setup, 4-41
edit display setup, 4-25
edit sensor setup, 4-35
edit source setup, 4-38
edit utility setup, 4-42
program actions, 4-33
program inputs, 4-26
program outputs, 4-27
system setup, 4-24
view/edit material, 4-16
view/edit process, 4-14R
rate deviation alarm, 4-13
rate establish, 4-12
rate ramp, 4-12
rate sample mode, 4-13
remote power handset, 1-6, 1-8, 2-3, 3-4,
3-7, 5-8, 8-1, 8-2, 12-3
resuming a process from abort or halt, 414, 5-2
RSH-600 example, 4-9
run time graph screens. See graphdisplaysSsample program, 3-1
sensor crystal replacement. See
sensor setup, 4-7
position control, 4-8
sign-on screen, 5-1
Simulate mode, 3-1, 3-4, 3-6, 4-4, 4-43
sourceMDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER
abort key operation, 2-3, 5-7
accessories, board part number, 1-8
control loop basics, 6-1
Edit Source Setup menu, 4-38
Edit System Setup Menu, 4-4general description, 1-2
input/output characteristics, 7-1
manual key, manual operation, 2-2
manual operation, 3-4
messageschange pocket, 5-12
change source, 5-9
source fault, 5-9, 5-11
option boards, 3-4
programming
defining a material, 4-17
material setup, 4-11
pocket control, 4-5
pocket position feedback, 4-6
power ramps, 4-12
rate establish, 4-12
source shutter, 4-4
source voltage, 4-5
Source/Sensor Status screen, 5-4
specifications, I/O capability, 1-6
specifications, material parameter, 1-5
specifications, parameters, 1-7

SYSTEM:

ENTERED BY:

starting a new layer, 5-2
starting a new process, 4-14, 5-1
states, 5-8
status displays, 5-4
substrate heat control, 4-10
Ttheory of operation, 10-1
basic measurement, 10-1
crystal health calculation, 10-3
film thickness calculation, 10-1
multi-sensor averaging, 10-4
rate calculation, 10-4
thickness overshoot, 4-12Time Display, 2-2
time parameters, entering, 4-2
trouble, error and warning messages, 5-8
Uutility setup, 4-4Vviewing results, 5-5voltage selection, 8-2

APPROVED BY:

DATE:MDC-370 DEPOSITION CONTROLLER

16.

MENU MAP

Figure 16-1

MENU MAP 16-1