Speedflo Configuration

With two versions of base unit and a wide choice of sensor options available, Speedflo can be configured to perfectly suit many industrial processes.

Hardware options

The Speedflo controller is available in two options to suit different requirements: Speedflo, which has 8 sensor inputs and 8 MFC actuator outputs; and Speedflo Mini, which has 2 sensor inputs and 3 MFC actuator outputs.

The two controllers have identical algorithms and control software, but differ in the number of available inputs and outputs. Both controllers have ethernet connectivity for straightforward communication with the software interface.

Sensor options

Speedflo comes with a number of sensor options, available in a wide range of configurations.

Plasma Emission Monitoring (P.E.M)
The visible light from the plasma contains information of all the species present via the optical emission spectrum. To monitor the intensity of any element in the plasma, a narrow band-pass filter can be used to allow through only the wavelength of light of the material or gas of interest.

P.E.M CCD
The plasma light can be captured by a CCD-type spectrometer which provides a universal picture of the process. For control purposes, the wavelengths of interest are electronically filtered and input to the controller. This type of tool delivers more information, however the integration time of the spectrometer slows down the feedback speed compared to the conventional band-pass P.E.M method.

Remote P.E.M (Penning P.E.M)
Gencoa’s Penning P.E.M sensor enables remote monitoring of plasma emission levels, and is ideal if substrate interference is problematic with conventional P.E.M sensors. A small plasma is generated remotely in the Penning gaugehead. A conventional P.E.M sensor can then be used to measure light intensity at a wavelength of interest. This represents the excess gas from the process.

Lambda
The Lambda sensor is an oxygen probe which provides a direct signal of the oxygen concentrations present in the vacuum. The Gencoa Lambda sensor provides a robust signal with good response speeds. Like P.E.M, it can provide information from multiple monitoring zones down the target length.

Target voltage
A convenient sensor from the process is the target voltage output from the magnetron power supply. This can be used for some material combinations as a stand-alone signal or in addition to a secondary signal such as P.E.M. Successful materials for this type of sensor are silicon and aluminium oxides and nitrides.

HiPIMS
Gencoa has developed sensor technology that enables the control of reactive HiPIMS processes for reproducible depositions and stable system performance.