OpenCoral Instructions

Interlock Boxes

You may have noticed that several of the tools in the nanofab have interlock boxes attached to them. These boxes have been deployed in order to enforce the requirement that each tool be enabled in coral before use. Once a tool has been enabled in coral, a signal is sent to the associated interlock box that allows the tool to be run. Below is a picture of one of these boxes:

Interlock Box


The box displays four LED lights to indicate the state that the machine is in. These are intended to make it easy to tell if a machine is currently in use by a lab member and what service state the machine is in.

* = Please consult the "Maintenance" tab in coral to see what conditions must be met in order to run the tool.


You will also notice that there is a key switch attached to each of the interlock boxes. This switch can be turned to "service" mode or "lock out" mode by any of the nanofab staff members. Service mode overrides any coral settings and allows the tool to be run. Lock out prevents any use of the tool.

The following machines currently have active interlock boxes attached to them:

  • Cambridge Fiji F200
  • Canary 1 Oxidation
  • Canary 2 Diff - Annl
  • Canary 3 SiN
  • Canary 4 Poly-Si
  • Denton Discovery 18
  • Denton SJ20C
  • Electromask CC250
  • LAM 590 Poly
  • Oxford 100 ICP
  • SCS PDS 2010
  • TMV Super

Upcoming interlock installations:

  • Oxford 80
  • Disco Dicing Saw

Interlock Boxes LED Lights Key

Please consult the following table to determine the state of a machine based on its interlock box lights:

Lights State of Machine
Tool is up with no reported problems and is not currently in use.
Tool is running with no reported problems.
Tool is not currently running and has one or more problems reported in Coral.
Tool is currently running and has one or more problems reported in Coral.
Tool is shutdown in Coral.
Key is switched to "LOCK OUT" and cannot be run.
Tool is not in use and interlock box cannot communicate with Coral.
Tool is under repair and has been shut down through Coral.
Interlock box is in service mode and tool is capable of running regardless of Coral state.
Interlock box is in service mode is capable of running, but is unable to communicate with coral.
Tool is running, but cannot communicate with Coral.
Key is switched to "LOCK OUT" and interlock box cannot communicate with Coral.