System 1 Post Systems

SYSTEM 1 Post Systems come in individual, 4 and 6 post systems with tiebar configurations and Gimbal Piston™ Air Isolators . They come in a large range of standard sizes, and can be custom made to any exacting reguirements.

Modular Post Mount Supports: The unique System 1 design lets you customize basic features with standard options without having to pay for a custom designed system.

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Rigid-Damped Tripod

The Rigid-Damped Tripod is a true innovation for mounting semiconductor equipment in araised-floor,cleanroomenvironment. Mounting of such equipment has been an ongoing source of difficulty for tool and facility engineers. The combination of tall, lightweight raised floors, more massive and sensitiveequipment and utility holes or"pop-outs" in the sub-floors have stretched conventional sub-floor pedestals to the limits of their intended performance. Such pedestals are cumbersome, expensive and require special on-site engineering for each tool at each site. Furthermore, such pedestals are large steel structures prone to resonance with little or no structural damping. Simply designing a stiff structure is not adequate. For sensitive inspection tools, rigidity combined with aggressive structural damping is the only ound approach.

The Rigid-Damped Tripod solves all of these problems at a surprisingly low price, making it the preferred solution for not only vibration sensitive tools but any tool too massive to be placed on the raised floor.

See the Rigid-Damped Tripod page for details.

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Rigid Leveling Stands 

Instruments with less sensitivity to mechanical vibration or effective internal vibration isolation may be adequately supported on Rigid Leveling Stands. TMC Rigid Leveling Stands are designed to minimize amplification of sub-floor vibration levels, provide a foundation that is much stiffer and less resonant than the raised floor and allow the option of upgrading to an isolator in the future. The stands consist of square posts with a rigid screw jack mechanism and jam nut to support the platform. A heavy-duty tripod leveling stand is preferred for taller floors and applications requiring the stiffest support structure. A Rigid Leveling Stand version of our Quiet Island is ideal for applications where the sub-floor vibration levels meet the tool vibration criteria.  A number of tripods, quads stands and square post designs exist. Our recommendations will depend on your floor height, sub-floor geometry and application..

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Gimbal Piston™ Air Isolators

Some vibration sensitive applications will require Gimbal Piston™ Isolators, which offer effective vibration isolation. These isolators have low vertical and horizontal natural frequencies and can achieve excellent isolation above 5-10 Hz. Isolators for raised floors above 30 in. (750 mm) are rigidly connected with tiebars for safety and stability. Shorter posts are independent, with oversized baseplates for increased stability.

See the Gimbal Piston™ Isolators page for more information.

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STACIS^® Active Piezoelectric Vibration Cancellation System

For the ultimate in vibration control beneath a raised floor the STACIS^® Piezoelectric Active Vibration Cancellation System may be combined with our platform laminations. STACIS provides isolation actively from 0.2 Hz to 250 Hz and passively at higher frequencies. The improvement in isolation performance in comparison to an air isolator is two orders-of-magnitude at 2 Hz. The STACIS system will not only bring a noisy sub-floor back to within spec, but is compatible with all tool internal isolation systems and has been shown to possibly increase stepper yield in quiet environments.

See also Quiet Island
See the STACIS® page for more information

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Counter-Mass
Loaded platforms on air isolators, may require a Counter-Mass to maintain stability. The minimum separation between the isolator centers must meet certain criteria (see the Technical Background), or self-oscillation may occur. To maintain a low center of mass, a counter-mass is generally required. See also Quiet Island

Quiet Island with rigid mounts or STACIS Piezoelectric Supports DO NOT require a Counter-Mass.

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Earthquake Restraint Systems

TMC’s Earthquake Restraint System provides increased safety and stability for optical tables in high-risk earthquake areas without affecting table performance.

The TMC Earthquake Restraint System relies on top brackets and upper tiebars to control motion of the table top and, where severe occurrences are anticipated, floor brackets with lower tiebars to secure the support structure to the floor. Under normal conditions, there is no contact between the top brackets and the support structure, so that performance of the optical top and the vibration isolation system are not affected. Clearances are large and brackets are lightweight, stiff, well-damped, unobtrusive and encapsulated with soft elastomer to provide gradual snubbing.

Our Earthquake Restraint System can be retrofitted to an installed TMC optical tables or specified with a new order.

Inferior, competitive designs may depend on large, pendulum-like structures that hang below the table top and connect to the floor. Since pendulums characteristically have low resonant frequencies, these add-on structures lower the resonant frequency of the table top and degrade compliance and damping. In addition, the floor connection creates a potential rigid coupling between table top and floor, which can compromise vibration isolation if it drifts out of calibration.

How To Order:

To order one floor restraint bracket (no bolts)
No. 83-103-01 (for TMC 11 and 12 Series posts)
No. 83-103-02 (for TMC 13 and 14 Series posts)
No. 83-103-03 (for TMC 63-500 Series posts)

How to Order one top restraint bracket (including 8 bolts)

No. 83-102-01

Floor Restraint Brackets for Optical Tops, Optical Tables

Floor brackets are recommended where quakes are anticipated. They encircle the lower tiebars close to the support posts and bolt to the floor. Four brackets are usually recommended. Since standard TMC post-mount support systems are supplied with only upper tiebars, an additional set of four lower tiebars must be specified for both new and retrofitted orders. Specify both floor brackets and tiebars individually.

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Upper and Lower Tiebars for Optical Tops, Optical Tables

Standard System 1 Post Systems are supplied only with upper tiebars. An additional set of lower tiebars is required when floor restraint brackets are used; or, you may want an additional row of tiebars for extra strength. Tiebars must be specified individually - see ordering chart.

Tiebar for Optical Tops, Optical Tables Ordering Chart:  (including bolts)