Spin coaters are key devices in thin-film technology and are used to apply liquid materials such as photoresists, polymers or sol-gel solutions evenly to substrates. By rotating the substrate and adjusting the speed and acceleration in a targeted manner, reproducible layer thicknesses can be applied, making spin coaters indispensable in micro and nanofabrication and semiconductor technology in particular.

The newer of the devices available at the institute is the POLOS Spin150i from SPS, which was specially designed for research and development. It is used in areas such as MEMS, semiconductor technology and microfluidics and is suitable for all common spin processes. A key feature of this system is its almost unlimited flexibility in process design. The recipes can be programmed step-by-step and intuitively via a large touchscreen or alternatively imported via USB. The Spin150i covers a wide range of substrates, from fragments with a size of just 5 mm to substrates with a diameter of 150 mm or an edge length of 10 cm. An A-V36 vacuum chuck and the D-V10 fragment adapter are used for this purpose. The removable touchscreen is glove-compatible, splash-proof and chemical-resistant. Technically, the device allows very high process dynamics with speeds of up to 12,000 rpm and very fast accelerations of up to 51,270 rpm/s.

The institute also has the older Delta10TT device from SUSS MicroTec, which can be loaded with the same substrate dimensions but is functionally less flexible. The process programmes can consist of a maximum of ten individual steps. The adjustable speed range is only between 100 and 6,000 rpm and the acceleration cannot be freely defined, but can only be selected in ten predefined steps. A maximum acceleration of 12,000 rpm/s can be achieved.

All in all, spin coaters are indispensable tools in research, as they enable precise and reproducible coating of substrates and thus considerably facilitate the development of new materials and processes.