Archive for category: News

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As the demand for DCA’s high-quality UHV products continues to skyrocket, it was inevitable that the existing DCA headquarters would be outgrown. The time has come therefore, to relocate the factory only 2km away to the new purpose-built and eco-friendly headquarters north of Turku, Finland.

This important transition allows DCA to significantly expand its manufacturing capabilities with the site capacity more than doubling from 2000 m² to 4500 m².

The construction of the new headquarters was carefully chosen to minimize the environmental impact and optimize the energy efficiency.  This included replacing the traditional high carbon footprint load-bearing steel beams with massive, engineered wood beams.  The exterior of the building is clad with Siberian Larch and uses low-emissivity triple-glazed glass, providing plenty of natural light and excellent thermal insulation during the Finnish winter. The building is heated and cooled using renewable geothermal energy sourced from 4.5km deep wells. Finally, the building is primed for the installation of an impressive solar panel system that will provide enough renewable energy to meet the demand throughout the year!

A key factor when designing the layout, was to prioritize the UHV system production and guarantee the cleanliness of components progressively improves as you flow through the factory. The expansion includes the installation of new equipment to increase manufacturing capability of 1000 mm diameter chambers (P1000 and M1000), a custom-made cooling system for assembled UHV systems, and ultra-clean process gas lines.

Last but certainly not least, DCA is looking forward to welcoming new personnel across all departments. These individuals will be an essential part of DCA’s plans to increase production capacity and to continue delivering high-quality, custom-designed UHV systems with expert support for our customers.

The transition is planned for March 2022. This is not expected to affect our daily operations, but we appreciate your patience if any minor delays occur during this period.

Wishing all our customers Seasonal Greetings and a prosperous New Year!

DCA Instruments has installed and commissioned the dual-M600 MBE system with automated transfer at The University of Sheffield. The custom-made UHV system features two M600 MBE chambers for III-V materials, a degas/preparation chamber, an analysis chamber for SIMS, and storage chamber (for up to 20 additional wafers). The automated transfer system (ATS) comprises a central distribution chamber (CDC) with a robotic arm to perform the wafer pick-up and placement. The robot is controlled by highly-sophisticated logic software that allows the user to transfer wafers to/from available chambers, as well as electronically mark wafers/holders in order to restrict access to designated chambers and avoid cross-contamination. DCA’s extensive testing of the robot transfer process ensures high accuracy and reliability. The ATS achieves significantly faster wafer processing and consequently maximises the efficiency of the system.

Ian Farrer and his team at The University of Sheffield will be using the DCA Instruments Dual-MBE System to conduct cutting-edge research into nanostructured materials (quantum dots & wires) with the aim of developing novel technology for quantum computing applications.

Are you looking to hibernate your DCA Thin Film system during a COVID-19 laboratory closure?   

Here are some steps to think about alongside your own procedures.  Any questions, consult your manual or contact us: info@dca.fi

• Pump down all deposition chambers, transfer chambers and load locks to their base pressure.  This will protect activated filaments such as within RHEED source and ion gauges.
• Close transfer gate valves.  
• Purge process gas lines, including MFC and Gas manifold, back to the gas bottle.  If you can leave the lines under Argon, then do so.
• Water lines should be checked for leaks.
• Materials in your sources, can degrade over long periods.  Do you need to secure these?   Materials in crackers are a particular concern.

Is there a chance of loss of power?

• Back-up data on PC

Set up Video Calling and have contact details published in laboratory. 

These simple considerations alongside your own laboratory checklist should ensure that your system is back to being operational as soon as you are.

We hope that you and your families stay healthy.  DCA Instruments: SERVICE & SALES