RAITH STATUS WED. APRIL 27, 2005: 1800 HOURS SYSTEM RETURNED TO USERS ACCESS

[James Conway]

Greetings Raith Users:

Despite our best efforts to effect repairs to the system these last 
weeks we have been unable to eliminate, or significantly reduce the 
Electron Scatter effects that we have been experiencing in the Zeiss / 
LEO SEM column.
There is little to no change from the situation from before albeit the 
20 um aperture values have been reduced.
The scatter effects evidenced as exposure artifacts remain and will 
affect those users whom were affected by this problem before.

Last week, and over the past weekend, a nearly complete PM routine has 
been performed again with the exception of the extractor anode plate 
below the gun section.  This part was received in a used contaminated 
condition from ZEISS and our current part was reversed and reinserted in 
the system.  We are currently slowly conditioning the FE-gun after 
several opening and closings of the system and it will take several days 
to a week for Gun vacuum levels to return to normal with operation.

We are now resuming the CORAL Queue and reservations from 0600 hours 
Thursday morning or whenever HANSJ and DWANG have completed their work 
on the system overnight.  I have asked them to post to this list when 
they have finished.

Both RAITH USA Inc. and RAITH GmbH and myself are continuing to strive 
to correct these issues expediently.

Thank you for your support!

James Conway