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AMBER is our new software package for MBE process control. It has been entirely written from the ground up to provide an easy to use, but extremely versatile control package to replace our earlier software, Epic.

AMBER has a modular architecture. The code that communicates with external instruments such as pressure gauges, mass flow controllers, pyrometers, ellipsometers, is contained in software objects that handle the communications as well as the configuration for that instrument. These instrument objects are separate from the main program and additional instruments can be added easily. The configuration of these new instruments is then automatically handled through the user friendly configuration GUI of AMBER.

Another innovation implemented in AMBER is plug-in programs. A plug-In is a separate block of code with its own GUI that works with AMBER to perform various functions. A typical example is a software PID loop that reads a sensor such as a pyrometer and automatically adjusts the substrate thermocouple setpoint to maintain a target pyrometer reading. Another example is a buffer chamber wafer outgas program that will run a complete temperature program with a single click. Plus-ins run simultaneously with a recipe, so they can work in conjunction with a recipe (such as a PID loop) or independently such as a wafer outgas cycle. Plug-ins, like instrument objects, can be easily added and configured through AMBER. Both plug-ins and instrument drivers are small programs written in LabVIEW and can be built from provided templates. For unique and/or proprietary functions, we can write plug-ins for your application. Several more plug-ins are in development and will be available for download from our website.

Absolutely precise shutter timing is simply not possible with software that relies on WindowsXP and the on board system clock for synchronization. In our earlier software, Epic, several tricks were implemented to bring the timing to the under 10 millisecond precision. Unfortunately, bigger errors were occasionally possible if other processes are running in Windows. This is true of all Windows and Unix based software. One solution is to use a real time operating system instead of WindowsXP. Usually this means esoteric, expensive and difficult to use hardware such as the Eurotherm PC3000 or other embedded system. Real time operating systems do exist for standard PCs, but not without giving up many of the convenient features of WindowsXP such as remote web access, ability to run other programs, widely available support and hardware. With AMBER you get the best of both worlds. AMBER runs in WindowsXP on an industry standard PC, but the shutter timing is controlled outside of software using custom digital logic and a quartz controlled oscillator that is stable to 50 parts per million. This results in shutter timing with a precision on the order of microseconds. Although this level of timing accuracy is obviously overkill for most MBE applications, the hardware timing has another advantage; it frees up the processors to perform more complex functions during recipe execution.