Safety Precaution for SEM operation

1. Check the vacuum of the system. Everyday when operating, record the pressure on the logbook.
	Gun vaccum should be smaller than 4E-7 Torr and chamber vacuum should be smaller than 5E-5 Torr
2. When venting, do not exceed the pressure of Nitrogen gas 1.5 psi
3. Release the door lock open of SEM before venting. It will prevent over pressuring the chamber during venting.
4. Always center the stage before venting (Click OK when it prompts to center the stage)
5. Load sample carefully, do not pressure the stage (Alarm sounds when you exert the pressure)
6. Close the door as soon as sample is loaded. (Within 5 minutes) Otherwise it will take a long time to pump down.
7. Do not increase the filament current to more than 2 A for Kimbal filaments and 3 A for Denka filaments. (Now we have Kimbal filaments)
8. General operation of SEM is at 30 kV. Don't operate SEM at 40 kV for more than 1 hour. (It will create problem in vacuum system)
9. For normal sample (less than 1 mm thick), don't increase stage height more than z=24mm.
10. Don't mess the wires on the back of SEM. Put the sign properly before disconnecting wires so that you can reconnect easily (if required)
11. EDX arm has lock at "5", don't bring it down, it will smash the stage.
12. In case of short time power failure, the pump will stop working but the computer will be running. Shut down the computer, press standby button, and wait for 30 seconds. Press stop (Red) button, wait for 30 seconds. Then restart the computer. Then start the pump as normally.
13. Refer to the manual or call Bob at 763-242-1262 (1-800-356-1090 ext 728) for any strange symptoms or emergency

	E-beam lithography resist and chemical handling
Basically chemical process and any other preparation of sample should be processed at another room designated for device fabrication processing.
1. Use fume hood located at another room for cleaning the samples. Dispose Acetone and Alcohol on the vessels marked "Used Acetone" and "Used Propanol"
2. Use spin coater, clean the coater with acetone after coating the sample.
3. Dispose the developer AZ400K in "Used AZ400K" vessel
4. Dispose the developer MIBK:IPA in "Used propanol" vessel