Veeco Dektak 3030

Trainers

Features

• measurement of vertical features from <100Å - 0.3mm with vertical resolution of 1Å or 25Å
• displays english or metric units
• 5,000 points per scan
• ablility to level scans
• supports samples up to 140mm (6") wide and up to 15mm thick

Operating Instructions

Dektak keypad showing major functions

Dektak sample stage and major components

Starting measurement

1. Turn up brightness control (dial under the monitor) by moving it to the left.
2. Turn zoom/focus control knob (bottom panel) fully clockwise.
3. Turn illuminator knob (to right of zoom/focus knob) clockwise until the illuminator turns on.
4. Place sample on measurement stage.  

   Caution: Don't touch the leveling knob (on front edge of stage) while loading or at any time. Moving this knob can cause extreme problems with the accuracy of the system and with the leveling function of the software.

5. Press the "FCTN" button (under the numeric keypad) and then the "5" (number five) key to display a horizontal alignment bar.
6. Turn the zoom/focus knob counterclockwise until the surface is in focus on the screen. You may need to adjust the illuminator brightness while doing this. Too little illumination will not show your surface features. Too much illumination will "wash out" the image.

   Note: Usually, the stylus tip will be aligned with the horizontal alignment bar that was turned on in a previous step.

7. Press the blue stylus up/down button (two triangles) in the lower right corner of the keypad. This will lower the stylus onto your sample. Wait until the stylus stops moving.
8. Use the joystick on the bottom front panel to move the stage and your sample. The joystick moves the stage relative to the screen. For example, moving the joystick side to side will slide the image on the screen horizontally.
9. Position the stylus tip to the left of the feature you wish to measure. The exact distance will depend upon the setting of the measurement length.
10. Press the blue stylus up/down button again to raise the stylus.
11. Press the gray "PRGM" button (middle of keypad). This will show the scan settings screen.
12. Adjust the scan settings. Use the cursor up/down buttons (located around the black "FAST" button) to select a parameter. Use the cursor left/right buttons to choose a value. Some parameters require numbers. Use the number pad to enter these values.
13. After adjusting the scan parameters, press the blue "SCAN" button to begin scanning.

Leveling the plot

1. Press the blue "REF" button. Use the cursor left/right buttons to move the reference cursor (on the screen) to the left edge of a flat spot in your plot.
2. Press the blue "MEAS" button. Use the cursor left/right buttons to move the measurement cursor to the other side of the flat spot in your plot.
3. Press the gray "LVL" button. The computer will erase the plot, recompute, and replot the results using the flat spot as a leveling reference point.

Printing the plot

1. Press the black "PT" button (located above the blue "SCAN" button). The plot will be printed on the thermal printer mounted on top of the Dektak. Use a razor blade to cut the paper off the printer.

When done with system

1. Turn the illuminator off by rotating its knob counterclockwise all the way.
2. Turn the zoom knob clockwise all the way to raise the stylus and camera.
3. Turn off the monitor by moving the brightness control all the way to the right.
4. Remove your sample.