The C12 is a small Plasma-Assisted MBE (PA-MBE) reactor, very user-friendly and cost-effective, dedicated to the epitaxy of Nitride materials (AlN, InN, GaN and their alloys). As the name suggests, the active N species are provided by a radio-frequency (RF) plasma source. In this source, N₂ gaseous molecules are injected in a PBN cavity and are resonantly excited and dissociated by a 13.56 MHz RF electromagnetic wave. The flux of active N species is adjusted by varying the N₂ flux and the RF power. 

The chamber allows to grow on 1-2" substrates (1" uniformity) and is equiped with:

• Three quasi-Knudsen effusion cells for metallic species: Ga, Al and In
• Two effusion cells for dopant species: Si and Mg
• One Riber RF plasma source
• One graphite-based substrate heater allowing for reaching 800-850 °C
• One interfaced reflective high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) apparatus for real-time growth monitoring