Linton offers Kayex Intelligent Crystal Control System legacy console retrofit

Linton Crystal Technologies (LCT) of Rochester, NY, USA – which design and makes equipment for producing monocrystalline ingots of silicon as well as materials such as germanium and gallium arsenide (GaAs) for the semiconductor and solar industries – is offering a hardware retrofit for older Czochralski (CZ) process crystal growers that rely on MS-DOS-based control software (i.e. all growers made by LCT prior to 2009).

The KICCS Legacy Console Retrofit provides up-to-date hardware and software process control and enables customers to take advantage of recent updates, as well as be supported through future improvements. The retrofit is customized to each customer’s grower hardware and processes and can be completed on-site by the customer or an LCT technician with minimal downtime.

“Since we introduced our Kayex Intelligent Crystal Control System (KICCS) in 2009, we stopped supporting the MS-DOS-based software that preceded it,” says software and controls manager Brian Repman. “The computers that ran the older software also have since been discontinued, rendering the whole console obsolete,” he adds. “The retrofit enables customers to replace the outdated console software with one that has many improved features, such as the ability to translate the interface into their native language.”

The retrofit will allow customers to take advantage of the software features standard to more recent growers. This includes the integration of a KrystalVision camera into the console computer, with the ability to display the image on either of two screens. The retrofit also entails replacing any existing two-camera head unit with a single, high-resolution camera to reduce operator setup and adjustment.

This higher resolution also provides the opportunity to perform more advanced functionalities within KrystalVision in the future, such as the melt gap software feature expected to be released early in 2019.

LCT’s Web Integrated Grower Supervisor (WINGS), for remote furnace management and data collection, also runs on the retrofit and data can be maintained within a company’s network for simultaneous, consistent data sharing across growers.

Additionally, legacy keyboard ports are replaced with USB keyboard ports, and additional USB ports are installed to allow for more convenient updates and file backup.

The computers are fan-less, powered from DC-voltage in the console, and support USB Flash disks and USB CD-ROM.

Tags: Germanium GaAs substrates

Visit: www.lintoncrystal.com