Colnatec demonstrated a new "self regenerating" OLED film thickness sensor system, called the Tempe. The system includes a new heat resistant quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and a unique temperature controlled sensor housing and measurement electronics. The Tempe provides real-time, in-situ, ultra high accuracy process sensor that periodically renews itself, making it operational for hundreds of hours without fail.
The new crystal (which they call the RC cut quartz crystal) is immune to radiation and stress induced frequency shifts. When the RC is coated in the thin film process it changes its frequency - which gives the thickness measurement.
In a different PR, Colnatec announced that the RC quartz crystal has been independently tested and verified by a German thin film lab to be thermal shock resistant. Thermal shock is responsible for thickness errors that can destroy today’s most sensitive electronics, so a shock-resistant crystal enables manufacturers to reduce yield loss and improve film thickness control.
