STACIS Quiet Island - Active isolation system

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing factories (fabs), Nanotechnology Centers, Nanofabs, and other precision manufacturing and research facilities often incorporate cleanrooms with a system of raised false floors to accommodate complex facilities requirements (plumbing, electrical cables, gas piping, etc.) and to maintain strict cleanliness standards. Such floors present a challenge to the installation of vibration-sensitive production, inspection, and metrology equipment. The raised floors cannot provide the necessary quiet vibration environment for such tools. TMC's Quiet Island® is an innovative solution that replaces a section of the raised floor area with a "Quiet Island" anchored to the sub-floor below. The Quiet Island consists of a cleanroom compatible platform top combined with an application and site specific support structure.

Vibration Cancellation

The main support element and core technology unique to the Quiet Island is the STACIS III Active Vibration Cancellation System. This "rigid" style inertial vibration cancellation support system is critical for any vibration sensitive instrument, enabling such tools to operate to their highest standards in an otherwise noisy environment. STACIS III is compatible with automated wafer processing tools, high resolution eBeam imaging tools, ion-beam milling tools, and any tool with internal vibration isolation systems, both passive and active (see our white paper on stacking active on active isolators). In addition, it provides the most vibration isolation across the widest frequency range commercially available. And, the "hard-mount" design is extremely stiff so that there is no stability concern for tall, top-heavy tools.

For very short raised floors, a more compact version of the Quiet Island can be designed utilizing STACIS IIIc isolators.

Risers and Supports

Extremely rigid and durable risers to support STACIS isolators are designed by TMC's experienced engineering team and manufactured to high standards and welding certifications in our ISO 9001 factory. Each Quiet Island is engineered to suit a variety of raised floor heights, sub-floor geometries, and tool footprints. With thousands of installations globally supporting over 200 different instrument models, TMC has the knowledge and experience to design a support structure meeting the needs of STACIS and your facility.

Rigid Platform

The platform is a TMC designed and manufactured 4 inch (100 mm) thick lamination of steel plates sandwiched around a lightweight, incompressible, damped core material. The layering effect of rigid steel plates and core, epoxy bonded into a seamless, stainless steel pan provides an extremely high level of stiffness and structural damping. The large cross-section and steel content yield a very high level of overall rigidity. The top and sides are a continuous, one-piece, stainless steel shell to preserve cleanliness, appearance and integrity. TMC designs and manufactures the platforms specific to the application incorporating cutouts, special shapes, tiedown holes, and lifting bolts as required.