Scanning for Ideas: A heater for making memories
A company that developed phase-change memories needed a heated cluster tool for deposition processes and other manufacturing steps.
The resulting tool from Momentive
Performance Materials, Strongsville, Ohio (momentiveceramics.
com), uses a rotating heater made of pyrolytic boronnitride
ceramics. The device can reach 1,500°, heats up at
600°C/min, and has a thermal uniformity greater than 99%.
A quartz separating plate serves processes or materials that
need temperatures above 300°C; for lower temperatures, the
plate is copper.