Sloan Dektak IIA VEECO Surface Profilometer Measuring System For Parts

Sloan Dektak IIA VEECO Surface Profilometer Measuring System For Parts

The Sloan Dektak IIA is a stylus-based surface profile measuring system made by Sloan Technology Corporation (later acquired by VEECO Instruments). It uses a diamond-tipped stylus to trace across a sample surface and measure step heights, thin film thickness, and surface roughness at sub-angstrom to micron scales. This system consists of two main units: the Dektak IIA scan head with its motorized sample stage, and the module interface unit housing the CRT display, processing electronics, and keyboard. This listing is sold AS-IS for parts or repair.

Specifications & What's Included

• Make: Sloan Technology Corporation / VEECO
• Model: Dektak IIA
• Module Interface Unit — Catalog No. 139974, Serial No. 02613, dated 10/85
• Scan Head Unit — Catalog No. 140292, Serial No. 02584, dated 8/85
• Power: 100/115V, 50/60Hz
• Printer outlet on rear panel: 100/115V, 50/60Hz (switched)
• CRT display integrated into module interface unit (not producing output)
• Front-panel keyboard: DISPLAY/STYLUS, SET-UP, DATA, CONTROL, PLOT BOUNDARY, CURSOR, DIRECTION, and numeric keypad sections
• Rear-panel interfaces: RS-232 (DB-25), Scan Head (multi-pin ribbon), Printer (ribbon), Video In (BNC), Sync Out (DB-9), Monitor ADJ trim pots (CONT, GRY, BRIGHT), VID (SMA)
• Sample stage with four circular magnetic sample holders visible on glass/mirror surface
• Stylus arm and spring-loaded scan mechanism present on scan head
• Interconnecting cables between scan head and module interface unit included
• Front cover panel of module interface unit is missing
• Manufacture origin: Santa Barbara, CA, USA (Sloan Technology Corp.)

Applications

The Dektak IIA was a widely used stylus profilometer in semiconductor fabs, university research labs, and thin film research facilities from the mid-1980s onward. It was designed to measure step heights and surface profiles on wafers, photomasks, and thin film samples — applications including photoresist patterning verification, metal layer thickness measurement, and surface roughness analysis. The instrument became a standard tool in VLSI and MEMS process development environments during the 1980s and 1990s. Sloan Technology Corporation was a pioneer in stylus profilometry and was later absorbed into VEECO Instruments, which continued the Dektak product line through subsequent generations (Dektak 3, 6M, 8, XT). Replacement parts, scan head assemblies, and electronic components from systems like this one are sought by labs maintaining older Dektak instruments still in service.