RCH Furnace Systems

RCH Associates furnaces are designed for optimum temperature accuracy and stability. Enclosed in a unitized, rugged and thermally insulated cabinet structure, up to 4 heating elements are packaged for easy maintenance and extended service life. Utilizing our proprietary ASTRA control system, RCH furnaces ensure maximum precision and ease-of-use for operators, with comprehensive automation and datalogging tools for process consistency. Most RCH diffusion and LPCVD processes are sold with guaranteed process performance criteria (within-wafer uniformity, wafer-to-wafer uniformity, etc). RCH has decades of experience producing a variety of custom furnace systems for various applications, including:

Click furnace type to see available processes

    • Dry oxidation

    • Dry oxidation with HCl enhancement

    • Dry oxidation with DCE enhancement

    • Wet Oxidation without hydrogen utilizing the RCH Steamer™

    • Pyrogenic oxidation, internal torch

    • Pyrogenic oxidation, external torch

    • Pyrogenic oxidation with HCl enhancement

    • Pyrogenic oxidation with DCE enhancement

    • DI:H2O bubbler oxidation

    • POCl3 phos dep liquid source doping

    • BBr3 boron dep liquid source doping 

    • Solid source doping

    • H2 anneal/alloy

    • Forming gas anneal/alloy/sinter

    • Inert or noble gas anneal/alloy/sinter

    • Intrinsic polysilicon

    • Amorphous silicon

    • Phosphorous doped polysilicon

    • SiPOS (oxygen doped polysilicon)

    • Silicon nitride (Si3N4)

    • Low stress silicon nitride

    • Oxynitride

    • HTO

    • LTO

    • PSG

    • BPSG

    • TEOS

    • Doped TEOS

    • The Model VAF Furnace System is designed by RCH Associates to perform annealing, alloying or sintering of substrate films that are sensitive to residual oxidation such as refractory and composite metals.

    • The system includes a moving element that traveses the outside of the main vacuum process chamber.

    • This unique design allows for rapid heating and cooling of the process chamber while remaining under vacuum.

    • Bench Top Furnace for 50-150mm wafers

    • Bench Top Furnace for 150-200mm wafers

    • Stand-Alone Single or 2-Tube RCH Furnaces for 50-150mm wafers

RCH Furnace Systems are designed around the following features:

(Click each section to expand details)

    • Unitized structural steel assembly

    • Hinged, locking and removable element access doors

    • Thermally insulated enclosure paneling

    • High temperature Urethane coating

    • Easy-to-adjust element alignment supports

    • Cabinet overtemperature interlock sensor

    • Leveling pads and optional seismic brackets

    • Stainless steel construction

    • Vents gases and heat from process tube or chamber

    • Indepently adjustable exhaust draw per tube-level

    • Cantilever closure or manual door sealing per tube-level

    • LPCVD flange and gas line fitting mounting scheme

    • Differential pressure gauge to monitor exhaust draw

    • Used to vent heated air from furnace cabinet top

    • HVAC control of furnace room

    • Water-cooled, high efficiency radiator

    • Air baffle paneling to direct air flow through cabinet

    • Exhaust fan module for air exhaust draw

  • Located within base of furnace cabinet

    • Encloses transformers, terminals and wire bussing

    • Encloses temperature controls and contactors/breakers

    • Easy accessibility to components

    • Pull down panels for easy access to control modules

    • EMO safety controls

    • Reduncant overtemperature interlock per element zone

  • Heating Elements

    • Options for temperature range anywhere from 350 to 1350ºC

    • +/- 0.5oC tolerance 600 to 1350oC range

    • +/- 1.0oC tolerance 350 to 600oC range 

    • Vacuum formed high purity alumina insulation

    • Stainless steel shroud

    • Helical windings with captive spacing

    • Control and overtemperature TC spikes per zone

    • Enclosed TC wire channel

    • TC holding and alignment clips

    Energy Kits

    • High purity alumina vestibule blocks

    •  NEXTEL soft collars

    • Stainless steel capture rings, plates and collars    

    • High efficiency digital SSR/SCR firing circuitry

    • Power control and circuit protection with EMO

    • CE-Compliant separation of control voltage and high power voltage

    • NEC-grade wiring

    • Easy accessibility to components

    • Main and control power disconnect contactors

    • Individual element power contactors and resets

    • Illuminated power indicators

    • Redundant overtemperature interlocks

    • 208, 380, 415, 480VAC main power, 50 or 60Hz

4-Stack Horizontal LPVCD Furnace 200mm Wafers

3-Stack Vacuum Annealing Furnace 150mm Wafers

2-Stack Horizontal Diffusion Furnace 300mm Wafers