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📋 Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Quick Start (60 seconds)
3. Interface Overview
4. Material Parameters
5. Speed Profile (4 Phases)
6. Environmental Control (PID)
7. Running a Simulation
8. Understanding Results
9. Exporting Data
10. Practical Examples

1. Introduction

What is Spin Coating?

Spin coating is a process used to apply uniform thin films to flat substrates. A solution is deposited on a substrate which is then rotated at high speed to spread the fluid by centrifugal force.

Simulator Capabilities

Feature	Description
🧪 Materials	6 different photoresists (from easy to difficult)
⚙️ Speed Profile	4-phase customizable process
🌡️ Environment	Temperature & humidity control with PID tuning
📏 Measurement	50-point uniformity analysis
📊 Statistics	Average, Std Dev, CV%, Uniformity
📥 Export	CSV & Excel data export

2. Quick Start (60 Seconds)

4. Material Parameters

Available Materials

Material	Viscosity	Difficulty	Typical Use	Thickness @ 3000 rpm
AZ 1518	25 cP	⭐ Easy	Photolithography	~1.7 µm
S1813	40 cP	⭐ Easy	Standard resist	~2.1 µm
PMMA 950K	35 cP	⭐⭐ Medium	E-beam lithography	~2.0 µm
SU-8 2050	450 cP	⭐⭐ Medium	Thick films, MEMS	~7.0 µm
HSQ	12 cP	⭐⭐⭐ Hard	Nanofabrication	~0.8 µm
Ma-N 2403	18 cP	⭐⭐⭐ Hard	High resolution	~1.0 µm

Resin Quantity

Wafer Size	Recommended Quantity
50mm	50-100 µL
100mm	100-200 µL
200mm	200-500 µL

5. Speed Profile (4 Phases)

SPEED (rpm)
    ↑
5000│                              ┌──────────────────┐
    │                              │   Phase 4        │
3000│                     ┌────────┤   DRYING         │
    │                     │        │                  │
2000│                     │ Phase 3│                  │
    │                    ╱│ THIN   │                  │
 500│                   ╱ │        │                  │
    │     ┌──────┐   ╱Phase│        │                  │
  10│─────┤Phase1│ ╱  2   │        │                  │
    │     │SPREAD│RAMP    │        │                  │
   0└─────┴──────┴─────────┴────────┴──────────────────┴───→ TIME
         2s      5s       15s       15s
    

Phase 1: Deposit (Spreading)

Phase 2: Acceleration Ramp

Phase 3: Speed Thinning

Phase 4: Final Drying

Phase	Speed Range	Duration	Purpose
1 - Deposit	10-50 rpm	2-5 s	Spread resin
2 - Ramp	10→2000 rpm	3-10 s	Smooth acceleration
3 - Thinning	1000-4000 rpm	10-30 s	Set thickness
4 - Drying	2000-5000 rpm	10-30 s	Evaporate solvent

8. Understanding Results

Statistics Overview (50 measurement points)

Statistic	What It Means	Good Value
Average Thickness (µm)	Mean thickness across all 50 points	Target ±10%
Std Dev σ (µm)	Measure of thickness variation	< 0.1 µm
CV%	Coefficient of Variation = (σ/avg) × 100	< 2%
Min (µm)	Thinnest point measured	Check spec minimum
Max (µm)	Thickest point measured	Check spec maximum
Uniformity (%)	[1 - (Max-Min)/(2×Avg)] × 100	≥ 95%

Uniformity Interpretation

Value	Color	Quality	Use Case
≥ 95%	🟢 Green	Excellent	Production ready
90-95%	🟡 Yellow	Good	Development acceptable
< 90%	🔴 Red	Poor	Not acceptable

10. Practical Examples

Example 1: Speed Effect Study

Run	Phase 3 Speed	Expected Thickness (AZ 1518)
1	1000 rpm	~5.0 µm
2	2000 rpm	~2.5 µm
3	3000 rpm	~1.7 µm
4	4000 rpm	~1.3 µm

Example 2: Material Comparison

Material	Viscosity	Expected Thickness @ 3000 rpm
HSQ	12 cP	~0.8 µm
Ma-N 2403	18 cP	~1.0 µm
AZ 1518	25 cP	~1.7 µm
PMMA	35 cP	~2.0 µm
S1813	40 cP	~2.1 µm
SU-8	450 cP	~7.0 µm

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues & Solutions

Problem	Possible Cause	Solution
Error: "Phase 1 must be ≥ 5 rpm"	Phase 1 speed too low	Set Phase 1 to 10 rpm or higher
Poor Uniformity (<90%)	Environmental instability	Reduce Kp and Ki, add small Kd (0.05)
Poor Uniformity (<90%)	Insufficient resin	Increase quantity to 100 µL or more
Thickness too high	Speed too low / Temp too low	Increase speed or temperature
Thickness too low	Speed too high / Temp too high	Decrease speed or temperature
Export doesn't work	No simulation run yet	Run simulation first, then export

Quick Reference Card

Default Settings (Beginner)

Parameter	Value
Material	AZ 1518
Quantity	100 µL
Phase 1	10 rpm, 2 s
Phase 2	10→500 rpm, 5 s
Phase 3	2000 rpm, 15 s
Phase 4	3000 rpm, 15 s
Temperature	22°C
Humidity	45%
PID	Kp=4.0, Ki=1.0, Kd=0.0

Key Formulas