Apogee 450 Spin Developer
A benchtop spin developer for large substrates, up to 450 mm
The CEE Apogee 450 is a benchtop spin developer for wafers up to 450 mm round and LCD or photomask squares up to 14″ x 14″. Its high-torque drive holds speed and acceleration with heavy substrates, and every recipe step is programmed from its touchscreen. Cost Effective Equipment have made spin processing equipment since 1987 and build the Apogee in the United States. SiSTEM supplies it across the UK and Europe.
Where it’s used
SiSTEM has supplied Apogee spin developers to companies throughout the UK and Europe since 2020. Some run as benchtop tools, and others sit in X-Pro II workstations beside coaters and bake plates.
Acceleration with heavy substrates
Speed repeatability is 0.2 rpm, and spin speed reaches 6,000 rpm. Acceleration runs to 30,000 rpm/s unloaded and holds up well as the load grows:
- 23,000 rpm/s with a typical 300 mm silicon wafer
- 3,000 rpm/s with a 350 mm x 6 mm round recessed chuck
- 400 rpm/s with a 14″ x 14″ x 0.05″ photomask in a recessed chuck
Development methods
The bowl takes direct fanjet spray, side-angle puddle and stream dispense. Developer can be fed from 1-gallon pressure cans to up to four spray or stream nozzles, among other dispense options. Top and backside DI water rinse can be hard plumbed at below 30 psi. An optional automatic nitrogen blow-off nozzle speeds up drying, and an optional auto-drain separator keeps solvent and aqueous waste apart.
Programming and process data
Recipes take an unlimited number of steps, timed to 0.1 seconds with up to 9,999.9 seconds a step, with bidirectional speed and acceleration control within a run. DataStream logs every run alongside room temperature and humidity, and recipes and logs move over USB or Ethernet or through a web browser.
Built for a long service life
The high-density polyethylene spin bowl has drain and exhaust ports built in. An indirect drive keeps the motor out of the chemical path, and vacuum and lid interlocks stop a run if the substrate isn’t held or the lid is open. The Apogee 450 developer is CE marked, and ETL listed through Intertek for North America.
Options
The Apogee 450 developer is available as a benchtop unit or in a flange or deck-mount configuration. It fits CEE’s X-Pro II workstation, which adds an upper exhaust enclosure for fume control, alongside spin coaters and bake plates. Multiple automated dispense lines can run at the same time.
Specifications
- Substrates: up to 450 mm round; up to 14″ x 14″ square
- Spin speed: up to 6,000 rpm, repeatability and resolution 0.2 rpm
- Acceleration: up to 30,000 rpm/s unloaded
- Step time: 0.1 s resolution, 9,999.9 s maximum
- Dimensions: 27 5/8″ W x 30 3/4″ D x 23 1/2″ H (702 x 781 x 597 mm)
- Weight: 115 lb (52.2 kg) excluding accessories
- Power: 208-230 VAC, 1,440 W (6 A) maximum
- Vacuum: below 33 kPa absolute
- N2 or CDA for automated dispense: 70 psi (482 kPa)
- DI water for spray and backside rinse, if hard plumbed: below 30 psi (206.8 kPa)
- Drain 3/4″ OD; exhaust 1 1/2″ OD (2″ on X-Pro models)
Buying through SiSTEM
SiSTEM quotes and supplies the Apogee 450 developer in the UK and Europe and handles the one-year parts-and-labour warranty in territory. CEE’s remote technical support and application process assistance run for the life of the tool.
Prices depend on the configuration, mainly mounting and dispense, so each system is quoted individually. Send us your substrate sizes and the resist and developer you’re using, and we’ll put together a quote for the right set-up.
