Spring has just arrived at Osaka with beautiful sign of blooming cherry blossoms.

For enjoying this season, Hanami “viewing cherry blossoms” is a popular event in Japan. We usually go to parks and have fun under blooming flowers with eating, drinking and even singing karaoke! Since they are in full bloom for only a few days, parks are crowded with a lot of visitors during those days.

This year, M-System International Customer Service Staffs had a lunch together at a park close to our office. From the far left of above picture, Mr.Shintaro Osawa, Ms.Jun Tang, Ms.Risa Igarashi, Ms.Ami Nagaoka, Ms.Ye Hu, Ms.Senka Fujihira and Ms.Akiko Nakahara. Shintaro and Jun are in hotline technical support group and all others are members of International Operation Group. Risa is responsible for North and South America. Ami is for Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Taiwan, and Pusan in Korea. Ye is for China, Hong Kong and Seoul in Korea. Senka is a new member and Akiko is the group manager. On the day we went, flowers were bursting into full bloom at their best. It was fabulously gorgeous! It’ll be great if we can go for Hanami next year with you.

When the time the cherry blossoms will become fallen, the beginning of summer will be just around the corner. See you then!

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a variety of vacuum deposition and a process by which a thin film of material is deposited on a substrate according to the following sequence of steps: 1) the material to be deposited is converted into vapor by physical means; 2) the vapor is transported across a region of low pressure from its source to the substrate; and 3) the vapor undergoes condensation on the substrate to form the thin film.

PVD covers a number of deposition methods but the two most important technologies are evaporation and sputtering. In VLSI fabrication, the most widely used method of accomplishing PVD of thin films is by sputtering.

Sputtering is a mechanism by which atoms are dislodged from the surface of a material as a result of collision with high-energy particles. Thus, PVD by Sputtering is a term used to refer to a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique wherein atoms or molecules are ejected from a target material by high-energy particle bombardment so that the ejected atoms or molecules can condense on a substrate as a thin film.Sputtering has become one of the most widely used techniques for depositing various metallic films on wafers, including aluminum, aluminum alloys, platinum, gold, TiW, and tungsten.
A schematic diagram of a typical RF sputtering system is shown in the figure below.

M-System’s full-isolated remote I/O and signal conditioners are widely used to monitor and control the thin film deposition processes:

• Monitoring of voltage/current at the electrode power source (10 kV / 1 A) in RF sputtering
• Monitoring of current at the iron beam power source in e-beam sputtering
  
• Monitoring of AC current (current transformer input) at the resistance heater in evaporative deposition process
• Position detection for the servo (pulse input)
• Position setting for the electronic gun (DC output)
• Front-end signal conditioning for the remote I/O
• Signal conditioning for direct input to the PLC
  

Benefits

• High isolation capability eliminating interferences by spark noise and superimposed high frequency contents
• Remote I/O usable with various open networks for PLC benefits the equipment manufacturer for standardization with different of PLCs to suit the end users’ needs
• Compact, high-density I/O helps the equipment control panel to reduce its footprint

System Configuration Example
The figure below shows an example of the thin film deposition process control system using a series of vacuum deposition devices. One main PLC provides common control in the system and supervises the nine sub PLCs that control individual vacuum deposition device. All I/O signals are interfaced at the R5 Series remote I/O to the sub PLCs via DeviceNet. The main and sub PLCs are connected via Ethernet. Use of remote I/Os reduces the panel space including that needed for wiring, impacting also the material cost and the work time.

Sputtering Technology is Widely Used in: 

• Semiconductor industry (integrated circuit processing)
• Glass surface coatings such as antireflection coating on glass for optical
• Metal coatings on plastics (aluminized PET film for snack bags, CD and DVDs)
• Photovoltaic solar cells

Data Seet:

The model MDR2 provides surge protection for semiconductor switches of discrete signals. Eight channels are housed in one package, providing a space-saving and economical solution at the front end of PLCs and field relays. It can be also used for non-isolated analog signals.

LED lights are provided optionally for individual channels to indicate degradation of the voltage limiter, telling the surge protector’s “health.” The LED is powered by the discrete signals without need for an auxiliary power supply.

Compared from the existing model MDR-8, more features have been added:

• High discharge current capacity 10 kA
• PNP and NPN types are usable
• CE marking
• Tested by IEC 61643-21 (Categories C1, C2)

Application Example

Specifications MDR2-8 v.s. MDR-8

MDR2-8 MDR-8 Life monitor Red LED ---- Pulse signal common PNP or NPN NPN Max. continuous operating voltage Uc between each line ±30 V ±30 V Voltage protection level Up between each line @1 kV/100 A ±40 V (±50 V with life monitor LED) ±40 V Voltage protection level Up between each line @4 kV/2 kA ±60 V ---- Leakage current @max. voltage 5 μA 5 μA Response time ≤ 4 nanoseconds ≤ 0.1 microsecond Max. discharge current Imax 10 kA 1 kA Nominal current IN 150 mA Max. 100 mA Internal series resistance 22 Ω ±20% Approx. 100 Ω CE conformity EMC Directive (2004/108/EC) EN 61000-6-4 (EMI) EN 61000-6-2 (EMS) ---- Surge protection IEC 61643-1, Categories C1, C2 ---- Operating temperature -5 to +55 °C (23 to 131 °F) Operating humidity 30 to 90% RH Dimensions W95 x H160 x D40 mm (3.74” x 6.30” x 0.16”) Electrical connection M3.5 screws M3 screws

Hello, everyone. My name is Sho Nakajima. I became a new member of the SE Asia Sales Department and have been covering the Philippine and Vietnam Market since this February. This is a wonderful opportunity for me and I am very pleased to work with you. I would like to introduce myself a bit. I was born in Osaka, a city which is filled with love and laughter all the time. Osakan people are really optimistic and do not hesitate to communicate with people. I recognize myself as such a person, and that personality always helps me to expand my horizons. I have been in China, Singapore and the U.S., and I have communicated with many people. Different countries and different cultures always teach me new things, and I have been moved by those people. With this opportunity, I hope that I can move you as well.

I am looking forward to supporting you, so please let us know anything. M-System is always with you.
Thank you very much.

Dear sir and madam.
My name is Senka Fujihira. I became a new member of operation group at International sales Department of M-System since April.

I was born in China and came to Japan six years ago. I like Japanese culture very much and I’m getting used to Japanese custom. In Japan, four seasons are clear and beautiful. I like spring in Japan, because in spring Cherry blooms are really beautiful. When you come to Japan, please choose spring. Spring is the best season.

I am a very positive person, and like to communicate with people. Working in operation group at International sales Department is a wonderful opportunity for me. I’ll work very hard. I’m looking forward to working with you. Thank you!