Bellwether proposed the development of an improved emissivity compensating pyrometer (ECP). This improved pyrometer will have advantages over conventional pyrometers including fewer measurement artifacts. Furthermore, the instrument will be initially developed for use with GaN processes, used for high power FET's and solar blind detectors. Improved process temperature measurement will lead to faster development through a better understanding of the process and higher manufacturing yields due to improved temperature control. Thus, such an instrument will reduce development and manufacturing costs for these critical materials. The group at Bellwether has experience developing and commercializing this technology for narrow bandgap materials. This technology is also transferable to other materials and processes. In the phase I program, we will explore the feasability of a modified ECP design by "breadboarding" such a pyrometer and using a GaN reactor as a test bed. In the phase II program, a prototype unit will be built and fully tested. These instruments will have advantages over other temperature measurement instruments including being noncontact, able to be used with moving targets, and useful for targets with varying surface properties (such as those undergoing processing). It will be a true in-situ, real-time device appropriate for use in process control and yield optimization.
