Safematic standard vacuum carbon coater

Safematic CCU-010 LV is a standard vacuum (rotary pumped) carbon coater, primarily designed for coating SEM specimens for EDS and WDS. For high resolution SEM and TEM carbon applications the high vacuum CCU-010 HV is recommended.
The CT-010 is a compact, self-contained, carbon evaporation head module which plugs into the CCU-010 LV base unit. A stand-out highlight of the CT-010 is its evaporation capabilities – featuring a multi-coating, automatic carbon fibre spooling system.

The CT-010 carbon coater module precisely controls carbon film thickness and terminates evaporation at user-defined thicknesses. The process uses the on-board quartz film thickness measurement system in combination with pulsed carbon evaporation to track the increase in carbon film thickness. It then adjust the evaporation current as it nears the user-defined carbon coating thickness, typically in the range of 2-15nm for EM applications.

The glass vacuum chamber is 120mm in diameter and includes a handy vertical graduated scale for setting the height of the specimen stage. An implosion guard with safety monitoring is also fitted.

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Fully automated standard vacuum carbon coater
Pulsed carbon evaporation for finer coating
Standard and gentle operating modes
Self-contained, plug-in style coating modules
Multiple carbon coating runs before source change
Dual-location quartz crystal film thickness monitor
Intuitive, touch-screen control
Easy upgrade to add high resolution coating
100mm diameter chamber with simple upgrade to large chamber (150mm/6″ specimens)
Superb Swiss quality and reliability

CT-010 carbon coating module

The Safematic CT-010 carbon coating module is a unique carbon fibre evaporation system – featuring a proprietary (patented) automatic carbon fibre spooling system combined with pulsed evaporation.

The CT-010 automatically advances the carbon thread after each evaporation enabling up to 50 carbon coating runs without the need to change the carbon fibre source – a huge advantage over labour intensive single shot or double shot carbon coaters.

The CT-010 features dual carbon coating modes to suit requirements:

Standard carbon coating mode for most routine carbon coating applications
Gentle carbon coating for very thin films and/or temperature sensitive samples

FTM film thickness monitor

A dual-position film thickness monitor (FTM) measurement system monitors and terminates the coating process at a user-defined thickness.

The plug-in monitoring quartz crystal and holder can be moved between the centre of the specimen stage and the outside, to accommodate different specimen sizes and layouts.

Vacuum pumping requirements

CCU-010 LV requires a suitable two stage rotary vacuum pump. With high performance, reliability and low noise characteristics, an Edwards RV3 is ideally suited for this purpose. please see Ordering Information (below) for details.

To configure a working CCU-010 LV standard vacuum carbon coater you will require the following:

CCU-010 LV base unit inclusive of a standard specimen stage
CT-010 carbon head module
Optional alternative specimen stage such as RS-010 or PS-006
Other optional accessories as required

Please add your required items using the quote buttons below and we will endeavour to provide your quotation as quickly as possible

Rotation and rotary planetary stages

A choice of easily exchangeable specimen stages, all with height and tilt angle adjustments, is available for the CCU-010 LV.

CCU-010 LV includes a standard plug-in style 80mm diameter specimen stage.
For specimens requiring rotation the optional RS-010 rotation stage is available.
For specimens with very irregular surfaces, or for particulates and spheres, the PS-006 rotary planetary stage is recommended.

3. Rotary Planetary Stage

1. Standard Stage

2. Rotary Stage

RS-010 rotary specimen stage

Dimensions (D x H): 80 x 23mm
Weight: 0.2kg
Number of specimen stub holders: 20
Rotation direction:: Clockwise
Speed: 6-120 rpm

PS-010 rotary planetary stage

Dimensions (D x H): 80 x 23mm
Weight: 0.2kg
Number of sample stub holders: 6
Rotation direction of table: Clockwise
Speed (specimen table): 0-20rpm
Rotation direction (specimen stub holders): Anticlockwise
Speed (specimen stub holders): 0-65rpm

Head Storage Unit

HS-010 vacuum storage system

The HS-010 is a compact vacuum storage system that allows a second CCU-010 coating head, additional stage and sputter coater targets to be stored under vacuum when not in use. There is no requirement for a separate pump as the CCU-010 can be used to pump down the storage unit.

For further information please see: Flyer HS-010 head storage unit

GD-010 Glow discharge unit

The GD-010 is a plug-in glow discharge unit specifically designed for use with the CT-010 carbon thread evaporation head module.

It consists of:

Height adjustable glow ring with shielding
High voltage power supply
High voltage plug-in connector
Process gas plug-in connector
Process pressure regulation valve
Process gas connection through CT-010 carbon thread evaporation head

ET-010 plasma cleaning stage

The ET-010 plasma cleaning specimen stage is designed for the pre-treatment (or post-treatment) of specimens in combination with a coating process. Samples can be pre-cleaned to remove light hydrocarbon surface contamination prior to sputter coating or carbon coating without the need to break vacuum. The ET-010 can also be used for the hydrophobic to hydrophilic surface conversion of TEM carbon films using an air plasma.

Click here for detailed information: Flyer ET-010 etching unit

Coating Lab software provides easy access to comprehensive carbon and sputter coating and process data for audit or quality control processes.

The Windows-based software records key data as real-time curves in a graphical format: vacuum pressure, current, voltage, carbon coating and sputter coating rate, coating thickness and specimen temperature.

The CCU-010 LV is connected to a PC using a USB cable, with Coating LAB automatically establishing a connection to the coater. Password protected tools for configuring the system and updating the firmware are included.

System requirements HW

Processor: 1GHz
RAM: 512MB
Memory 32 Bit: 850MB
Memory 64 Bit: 2GB

System requirements SW

Client operating system: Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP2
Server operating system: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 (64-Bit-Edition), Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2

RC-010 is Windows-based software that allows the CCU-010 to be remotely controlled and monitored from an external computer, for example when using the coater inside a glovebox. The GUI allows easy set up and selection of sputtering and carbon coating recipes and comes ready with user editable recipes with optimal settings for the most common metal sputtering targets and carbon evaporation. Connection from a laptop or computer to the CCU-010 HV coating system is via a USB cable.

Minimum system requirements:
Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 SP1, minimum 512MB of RAM, screen resolution 1024×768 or higher, USB 2.0 Interface

Brochure download:RC-010_remote control software.

Dimensions

Dimensions (unpacked): L 570 x W 360 x H 350mm. 25kg

Glass cylinder: Ø 120mm (DN 100 ISO-KF compatible)

Implosion guard: Plastic splinter shield around the glass cylinder

Carbon source: 2m carbon fibre tread on as spool (300015)

Targets (for SP-010 option): Ø 54mm and thickness up to 3mm

Coating time: 0.5 to 990s

Coating current: 10-100mA

Pumping: Edwards RV3 50/minute rotary vaccum pump with oil mist filter

Ultimate vacuum: <10^-2 mbar

Vacuum measurement: Pirani and cold cathode gauges

Display: 115 x 86mm, TFT graphical display

Specimen stage: Ø 80mm, height adjustment 0-50mm, tilt 0-45°

Film thickness measurement: Dual-position film thickness monitoring system. Piezoelectric crystal: frequency 6MHz, Ø 14mm, thickness 0.4mm.

Electrical: Plug C14, 90-260VAC, 47-63 Hz, 500W

Process gas connections: Process gas: Ø 6mm, venting gas: Ø 6mm, plasma gas (for optional SP-010 sputtering head module): Ø 6mm

Electrical: Connector socket C13, secured with 10A therm. circuit breaker

Located in Switzerland’s St. Gallen Rhine Valley – a region long renowned for expertise in vacuum and coating technology – Safematic GmbH manufactures technology-leading, highly innovative vacuum coating systems for electron microscopy and thin film applications. Labtech is delighted to offer Safematic sputter coaters, carbon coaters and accessories to our customers in the UK and Ireland.

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Carbon coater ordering information:

Base unit and carbon coating module

To configure a working CCU-010 HV system please add the base unit and carbon head module to your quote and then add any other accessories from the list of options below: