EFM 3
The Highest Purity Electron Beam Evaporator for Thin Film Growth
- Ultra-pure evaporation and very low back-ground pressure
- Evaporation area Ø 4 - 20 mm
- Flux monitor and integrated shutter
- Rear-loading of evaporation material as rod or in crucible
- Configurable for in-situ evaporation in VT -and LT- SPM
- Ease-of-operation with Lab VIEW TM –based Epitass® software
- Crucible temperature display
The famous EFM 3 electron beam evaporator is designed for evaporation from wires, rods or crucibles. Highest quality, unsurpassed cleanliness and continuous innovation have made the EFM 3/3s the market leading e-beam evaporator. Today the EFM 3/3s has been cited in several 1000 publications proving the scientific relevance of its dedicated design for surface science.
The EFM e-beam evaporators originally have been designed for ultra-pure evaporation of magnetic materials such as Fe, Co, Cr, Mn and Ni as sub-monolayer and multilayer thin films. Meanwhile the successful design concept has a proven record for basically all metals, semiconductors, several insulators and even organic material/individual molecules.
A careful choice of material composing the EFM, its proprietary water cooling concept combined with an integrated and T/C controlled degassing up to 250 °C enables evaporation in ultra-high vacuum (to below 10-10 mbar) and prevents cross-talk between sequentially evaporated substances. This together with the robust and compact design and high quality manufacturing makes the EFM-series a valuable long term investment and ideally suited for multi-user facilities.
The latest generation of EVC power supplies provides advanced filament control to 1 mA which allows to precisely regulate crucible temperatures down to 100 °C e.g. for evaporation of molecules. Between 100 °C and 800°C the temperature stability is 0.1 °C or better. The crucible temperature is determined and displayed with high precision based on a proprietary algorithm using power, filament current, crucible size and position as input.
Today more than 2000 instruments are used in virtually every surface science research lab making sure that there is a set of parameters/recipes available for basically every evaporation request and compatible equipment is always at hand.
More Information
Evaporator Characteristics & Results
EFM 3: Flat top diameter 10 mm, (Nozzle - sample distance 90 mm, Mo-crucible 8 mm diameter) EFM 4: Flat top diameter 36 mm, (Nozzle - sample distance 90 mm, Mo-crucible 8 mm diameter)
Stable Conditions
Stable conditions: The EVC 300 flux monitoring system provides precise control of the evaporant flux. The regulation parameters can be adjusted to ensure excellent response even with rapid changes of the flux setting as demonstrated here.
Deposition Area
Deposition area as a function of distance for three different standard aperture sizes for EFM 3, EFM 4 and EFM 3T.
Typical crucible temperatures (averaged) as measured for various high voltages. W-crucibles of given type were used.
(A) 3D view of the Al13Co4(100) surface dosed with 2.6 ML of Bi (300 × 300 nm2). (B) Height histogram of the Bi film showing the three specific island heights.
STM image of CuPc molecules (Copperphthalocyanine) on NaCl/Cu (100) @ 5 K. Data acquired by the group of Prof. I. Swart, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Sub-monolayer of CaF2 on Si(111) Imaged with STM
P. Rahe, P. Moriarty (University of Nottingham)
EVC Power Supply
The microprocessor controlled EVC power supplies in combination with the Epitass® software make the operation of all EFM-type UHV evaporators very convenient and safe. With up to 300 W power and up to 2 kV output they are sufficient for the evaporation of any desired material.
The EVC power supply provides a regulated filament emission current down to 1 mA in order to precisely regulate crucible temperatures down to 100 °C e.g. for molecules (see front page). Between 100 °C and 800 °C the temperature stability is 0.1 °C or better.
As a unique feature Epitass® software has a temperature display providing the actual crucible temperature.
The EVC 100 and 300-2 power supplies come with full flux regulator in addition to the emission current regulator which can be programmed for constant flux or integral flux values.
All parameters of the EVC power supplies including those for the optional motorised shutter can be set manually on the front panel or via the Lab VIEW™-based Epitass® software.
For Multilayer growth or co-evaporation from different cells several EVC power supplies need to be controlled. This functionality is provided by the MultiEpitass® software which can control up to four different cells mastering the individual Epitass® software of each EVC power supply. The MultiEpitass® is an option or part of an EFM 3T-EVC 300-2 package. All evaporators can be equipped with a motorised shutter which is either mounted at the factory or can easily be refitted by the customer.
Ion Suppression
The option Ion suppression adds an electrode to the EFM 3: EFM 3s, where s stands for suppression. A part of the evaporant beam in all products of the EFM-series is ionised by the electron bombardment during heating. Most of these ions are captured by the flux monitor electrode. As the evaporant is on high voltage with respect to the grounded sample the remaining ions may create defects in the substrate surface and deposit energy. To generate a 100 % neutral beam an additional voltage is applied at the suppressor electrode of the EFM 3s. The additional voltage is supplied by the power supply EVC 300s-2 or EVC 100s. Upgrade packages for existing EFM 3 are available on request. All other features of the EFM 3 are fully preserved.
Specifications
100 °C - 3300 °C
Rods and crucibles
Ø 4 – 20 mm
By z-shift
Integral part of base package
Up to 250 °C
DN 40 CF
210 mm
Co-deposition package with shutter motor and multi-pocket control
Ion suppression
Special length
For full specifications and more information about product options, please do not hesitate to contact your local sales representative. Find the contact details here: Contact Us
