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What is a spin coater?
A spin coater is a machine that applies a thin, even film to a flat substrate by spinning it at high speed.
You dispense a liquid onto the substrate, the spin coater turns it, and the liquid spreads outward until the excess flies off the edge. What's left is a uniform coating, often thinner than a micrometer.
- Typical speeds
- Hundreds to thousands of rpm
- Film thickness
- Nanometers to tens of micrometers
- Run time
- Usually under a minute
The parts of a spin coater.
Every spin coater has the same core parts. This is the Laurell 750; scroll to walk through it.
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Lid
Closes the process chamber during a run, so solvent vapor and spray stay inside. Most lids have a port in the center, so you can dispense through a closed lid with a pipette or syringe.
Laurell housings are impact tested, and interlocks stop a program from starting with the chamber open and keep the lid from opening while the substrate spins.
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Process bowl
Catches the excess material thrown off the substrate and drains it away. Its shape matters: a well-designed bowl keeps spray from bouncing back onto the wet film.
Laurell housings are seamless, machined from chemically resistant copolymer. For the harshest chemistry, there's a zero-porosity fluoropolymer option.
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Chuck and motor
The chuck holds the substrate, usually with vacuum, and the motor underneath spins it. Chucks come in sizes and shapes to match your substrate. Recessed chucks center square pieces for you and reduce buildup at the edges.
The 750's brushless motor spins from 1 to 12,000 rpm, in either direction, and accelerates at up to 12,000 rpm per second, depending on the chuck and substrate.
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Controller
Runs your recipe: a short series of steps, each with its own speed, acceleration, and time. Most coatings need two to five steps, such as a slow spread followed by a fast spin.
Every step of a Laurell recipe is programmable for both speed and acceleration. On the 750, a step can run from 1 second to 99 minutes 59.9 seconds, in 0.1 second increments.
How a spin coater works.
A spin coater relies on centrifugal force. As the substrate turns, the liquid on it spreads toward the edge and thins out. Most of it leaves the substrate entirely. What stays behind thins further as its solvent evaporates, until the film sets.
The final thickness depends mostly on spin speed and on the liquid itself, which is why a spin coater's speed control matters so much. For the full process, see What is spin coating?
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Dispense
Liquid goes onto the center of the substrate.
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Spread
A slow step carries it out to the edge.
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Spin off
At speed, the excess flies off the edge.
- 4
Evaporate
Solvent leaves and the film sets.
What makes a Laurell spin coater.
Laurell Technologies has made spin coaters since 1985, with tens of thousands of systems installed worldwide. These are the things we pay attention to.
The right materials
A seamless, chemically resistant copolymer housing lets one system serve many processes. Zero-porosity fluoropolymer housings handle the most severe chemistry.
Easy to use
Programming is simple, loading and unloading is easy, and there's a chuck for your substrate.
Safe by design
An impact-tested housing protects you, and interlocks stop the lid from opening on a spinning substrate or a program from starting with the chamber open.
Performance
The 750 spins from 1 to 12,000 rpm and accelerates at up to 12,000 rpm per second, depending on the chuck and substrate.
Focused on your process
Our sales and support staff have years of experience with coating and aqueous processing in industry and research. That experience shapes every design decision.
Custom solutions
If you have an idea that a standard spin coater can't handle, tell us. We've worked with many groups to turn an original idea into a working system.
Where spin coaters are used.
Anywhere a flat surface needs a thin, even layer, from university cleanrooms to production lines.
Photolithography
Coating photoresist on wafers before patterning.
MEMS and microfluidics
Thick resists such as SU-8 and polymer layers such as PDMS.
Solar cells
Perovskite and organic photovoltaic layers.
Displays and OLEDs
Organic semiconductor and transport layers.
Sol-gel and oxides
Precursor films that become ceramic and oxide coatings.
Polymers and nanomaterials
Polymer films and nanoparticle layers for research.
Sensors and biomedical
Functional coatings on sensor chips and slides.
Optical coatings
Antireflection and protective layers on lenses and glass.
Choosing a spin coater.
Answer these questions and you'll know most of what you need. Our team can help with the rest.
What's the largest substrate you'll coat?
Diameter, shape, and weight all count.
DecidesBowl size and chuck
What chemistry will you spin?
Solvents, acids, and bases attack different materials.
DecidesHousing material
How thin, and how even?
Thinner films need higher speeds; tight tolerances need steady speed control.
DecidesMotor speed and acceleration
How many recipes, and who runs them?
A shared lab needs saved, protected recipes.
DecidesController
Where will it live?
Fume hood, glovebox, or open bench.
DecidesFootprint, purge, and exhaust
How will you dispense?
By hand with a pipette, or automatically.
DecidesLid port and dispense options
Common questions.
Is a spin coater the same as spin coating?
No. Spin coating is the process of depositing a thin film by spinning a substrate. A spin coater is the machine that does it. Learn about spin coating.
How fast does a spin coater spin?
Most recipes run between a few hundred and several thousand rpm. The Laurell 750 spins from 1 to 12,000 rpm, with acceleration up to 12,000 rpm per second, depending on the chuck and substrate.
What can I coat?
Almost any flat substrate: silicon wafers, glass slides, square plates, and small fragments. The chuck needs to match the substrate's size and shape.
Why does a spin coater need vacuum?
Most spin coaters hold the substrate on the chuck with vacuum, so it stays put at high speed.
Can a spin coater go in a glovebox?
The 750 can. It's suitable for use in inert gas atmospheres and pressurized gloveboxes. Tell us about your setup and we'll help you plan it.