Q. What is spin coating.

Spin coating: Spin coating is a procedure used to deposit uniform thin films to flat
substrates. Usually a small amount of coating material is applied on the center of the
substrate, which is either spinning at low speed or not spinning at all. The substrate is
then rotated at high speed in order to spread the coating material by centrifugal force. A
machine used for spin coating is called a spin coater, or simply spinner. It is used in a
wide variety of industries and technology sectors.

Q2.Write down the theory of Spin coating ?

Spin Coating General Theory

Spin coating generally involves the application of a thin film (a few nm to a few um)
evenly across the surface of a substrate by coating (casting) a solution of the desired
material in a solvent (an "ink") while it is rotating

Figure 1: Example of spin coating a small molecule in solution using a static dispense
 First the substrate is coated in the ink containing the molecules dissolved in a
solvent (1).

 Then the substrate is rotated at high speed and the majority of the ink is flung off
the side (2).

 Airflow then dries the majority of the solvent, leaving a plasticized film (3) -
before the film fully dries to just leave the molecules on the surface (4).

 The rotation of the substrate at high speed (usually >10 rotations per second = 600
rpm) means that the centripetal force combined with the surface tension of the
solution pulls the liquid coating into an even covering. During this time the solvent
then evaporates to leave the desired material on the substrate in an even covering.

Q3.write short note about spin coating Description.

Spin Coating Process Description:

Typical spin process consists of a dispense step in which the resin fluid is deposited
onto the substrate surface, a high speed spin step to thin the fluid, and a drying step to
eliminate excess solvents from the resulting film. Two common methods of dispense
are Static dispense, and Dynamic dispense. Static dispense is simply depositing a
small puddle of fluid on or near the center of the substrate. This can range from 1 to
10 cc depending on the viscosity of the fluid and the size of the substrate to be coated.
Higher viscosity and or larger substrates typically require a larger puddle to ensure
full coverage of the substrate during the high speed spin step.

Dynamic dispense is the process of dispensing while the substrate is turning at low
speed. A speed of about 500 rpm is commonly used during this step of the process.
This serves to spread the fluid over the substrate and can result in less waste of resin
material since it is usually not necessary to deposit as much to wet the entire surface
of the substrate. This is a particularly advantageous method when the fluid or substrate
itself has poor wetting abilities and can eliminate voids that may otherwise form. After
the dispense step it is common to accelerate to a relatively high speed to thin

the fluid to near its final desired thickness. Typical spin speeds for this step range
from 1500-6000 rpm, again depending on the properties of the fluid as well as the
substrate. This step can take from 10 seconds to several minutes. The combination of
spin speed and time selected for this step will generally define the final film thickness.
In general, higher spin speeds and longer spin times create thinner films. The spin
coating process involves a large number of variables that tend to cancel and average
out during the spin process and it is best to allow sufficient time for this to occur.

Q4.Which method is best for coating?

Choosing a Spin Coating Method:

 In general, a dynamic dispense is preferred as it is a more controlled process that

gives better substrate-to-substrate variation. This is because the solvent has less
time to evaporate before the start of spinning and the ramp speed and dispense time
is less critical (so long as the substrate has been allowed time to reach the desired
rpm). A dynamic dispense also uses less ink in general although this does depend
upon the wetting properties of the surface.
 The disadvantage of a dynamic dispense is that it becomes increasingly difficult to
get compete substrate coverage when using either low spin speeds below 1000 rpm
or very viscous solutions. This is because there is insufficient centripetal force to
pull the liquid across the surface, and the lower rotation speed also means that
there is increased chance that the ink will be dispensed before the substrate has
completed a full rotation (at 600 rpm the substrate is rotating once every 0.1
 seconds, commensurate with a fast pipette drop). As such, we generally
recommend using a static dispense at 500 rpm or below with either technique a
possibility in the region between 500 - 1000 rpm.

Q5.Explain Spin coating Thickness Equation with a Example curve.

Spin Coating Thickness Equation

In general, the thickness of a spin coated film is proportional to the inverse of the spin
speed squared as in the below equation where t is the thickness and w is the angular
velocity:

Equation 1: Spin coating thickness equation.

This means that a film that is spun at four times the speed will be half as thick. A spin
curve can also be calculated from this equation such as the below.
 Figure 3: Example spin curve for a solution.

The exact thickness of a film will depend upon the material concentration and solvent
evaporation rate (which in turn depends upon the solvent viscosity, vapors pressure,
temperature and local humidity) and so for this reason spin thickness curves for new inks
are most commonly determined empirically. Typically a test film is spin coated and the
thickness measured either by ellipsometry or surface profilometry (Dektak). From this
one or more data point(s) the spin thickness curve can be calculated - usually with a good
degree of accuracy. The spin speed can then be adjusted to give the desired film
thickness.
Q6.Describe the Dynamic Dispense Spin Coating Technique

Dynamic Dispense Spin Coating Technique:

For the majority of spin coating above 1000 rpm we use a dynamic dispense as standard unless there are
any special circumstances or difficulties.

Normally we would use a pipettes to dispense a known amount of solution each time - usually 20 µl for
most common substrates/inks on our standard sized (20 x 15 mm) substrates or around 100 µl for our 50
x 50 mm substrates. However, if there is a problem with wetting then increasing the volume may help.

In order to get a high quality and consistent thin film the below points must be observed:

 The substrate should have reached it's desired rotational speed before the dispense happens

(usually only a few seconds).

 The ink should be deposited as close to the center of the substrate as possible otherwise you may

end up with a gap in the middle.

 The ink should be deposited in one quick and smooth action.

 The ink should be deposited in one and only one drop in order to prevent multiple coats.

 There should not be any bubbles blown onto the surface from the pipette.

 The pipette tip should never touch the rotating substrate.

It's also worth noting that for spin coating we also use a pipette in a non-standard way. Normally when
pipetting a solution the pipette would be used to the second stop so that additional solution is sucked up
into the tip and then discarded afterwards. However, this leads to a higher chance of additional drops or
bubbles being cast onto the surface. As such, we only use pipettes to the first stop when spin coating.

Q7. Write spin coating process Troubleshooting.

Spin Coating Process Troubleshooting
Film too thin
Spin speed too high Select lower speed
Spin time too long Decrease time during high speed step
Inappropriate choice of resin material Contact resin manufacturer

Film too thick

Spin speed too low Select higher speed
Spin time too short Increase time during high speed step
Exhaust volume too high Adjust exhaust lid or house exhaust damper
Inappropriate choice of resin material Contact resin manufacturer

Air bubbles on wafer surface

Air bubbles in dispensed fluid (resin)
Dispense tip is cut unevenly or has burrs or defects

Comets, streaks or flares

Fluid velocity (dispense rate) is too high
Spin bowl exhaust rate is too high
Resist sits on wafer too long prior to spin
Spin speed and acceleration setting is too high
Particles exist on substrate surface prior to dispense
Fluid is not being dispensed at the center of the substrate surface

Swirl pattern
Spin bowl exhaust rate is too high
Fluid is striking substrate surface off center
Spin speed and acceleration setting is too high
So in time too short

Center circle (Chuck Mark)

If the circle is the same size as the spin chuck,
switch to a Delrin spin chuck

Uncoated Areas
Insufficient Dispense Volume
Pinholes
Air bubbles
Particles in fluid
Particles exist on substrate surface prior to dispense

Poor reproducibility
Variable exhaust or ambient conditions Adjust exhaust lid to fully closed
Substrate not centered properly Center substrate before operation
Insufficient dispense volume Increase dispense volume
Inappropriate application of resin material Contact resin manufacturer
Unstable balance in speed / time parameters Increase speed / decrease time or visa versa

Poor film quality

Exhaust volume too high Adjust exhaust lid or house exhaust damper
Acceleration too high Select lower acceleration
Unstable balance in speed / time parameters Increase speed / decrease time or visa versa
Insufficient dispense volume Increase dispense volume
Inappropriate application of resin material Contact resin manufacturer
Q8. What is the advantage and disadvantage of spin coating?

1. Spin coating is a mature techniques and uses commercially available equipment and resists.
2. Used at all stages of processing on all types of substrate layers.
3. The high resist film thickness homogeneity as well as the short coating times makes spin-coating
the most- applied coating technique at least in microelectronics
4. The process optimization focuses only on these two parameters
Spin Coating Applications

Spin coating applications can vary greatly. The technique can be used to coat small substrates (from a
few mm square) or flat panel TVs which might be a meter or more in diameter. It is used for coating
substrates with everything from photoresists, insulators, organic semiconductors, synthetic metals, nano
materials, metal and metal oxide precursors, transparent conductive oxides, and many more materials.
In short, it is ubiquitous throughout the semiconductor and nanotechnology R&D/Industrial sectors.