MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Atomic-Layer Deposition System with Remote Plasma Activation of Surface Processes

MRI：轨道 1 采集具有表面过程远程等离子体激活的原子层沉积系统

• 批准号: 2320739
• 负责人: Qing Cao
• 金额: $ 94.4万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2320739&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Track; Acquisition; Atomic; Layer

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a customized plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) system, which will be housed in a shared facility at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This instrument will provide regional and national access to its unique capability of depositing various high-quality thin-film materials with atomic precise thickness at low processing temperatures. It will be used by investigators to develop multiple technologies critical for U.S. economic development and national security, including microelectronics, 5G/6G wireless communications, quantum information science, biotechnologies, and energy storage. In addition, this PE-ALD system will be used in four undergraduate courses in electronic materials and processing at UIUC, providing hands-on training of the next-generation of scientists and engineers as future workforce for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry. It will also enable the development of a learning module about the ALD technique for K-12 students for UIUC's Engineering Open House, and PE-ALD related summer research projects for local high-school students from minority groups. These outreach events will contribute to sustaining the diverse STEM talent pipeline. A core capability driving nationally important innovations in next-generation semiconductor and nanotechnology manufacturing is advanced nanoscale thin-film deposition capabilities. ALD is a unique and powerful vapor-phase deposition technique in which ultrathin, i.e., typically nanometer scale, films are synthesized sub-monolayer by sub-monolayer by repeating two sequentially executed half cycles involving self-limiting chemical reactions on a substrate surface. By integrating a remote plasma source, flow-through vapor delivery module, in situ ellipsometry, and load-lock connection with a glove box in a single system, this custom-built ALD system provides the capability to conformally deposit dense, pin-hole-free thin films of a wide spectrum of materials, including metals, nitrides, and oxides. This can be done using custom-synthesized precursors within a limited thermal budget, on both conventional and air-sensitive substrates featuring complex surface topologies, with precisely controlled material stoichiometry and thickness on the lattice scale. The investigators will utilize these capabilities to deposit functional thin film materials as the core component in high performance logic and power transistors, ferroelectric memory, optical wave guide, quantum photonic devices, quantum tunnel junctions, topological qubits, battery, thermal camouflage devices, biosensors, and biomedical implants. This instrument will enable research which will lead to transformative technologies in microelectronics, quantum sciences, and biomedical engineering. It will also accelerate development of new ALD precursors and the optimization of their deposition processes.This project is jointly funded by the Major Instrumentation Research Program (MRI) and the Advanced Manufacturing Program (AM) in the division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该重大研究仪器 (MRI) 奖项支持采购定制的等离子体增强原子层沉积 (PE-ALD) 系统，该系统将安装在伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校 (UIUC) 的共享设施中。该仪器将为区域和国家提供其在低加工温度下沉积具有原子精确厚度的各种高质量薄膜材料的独特能力。研究人员将利用它开发对美国经济发展和国家安全至关重要的多种技术，包括微电子、5G/6G无线通信、量子信息科学、生物技术和能源存储。此外，该PE-ALD系统还将用于UIUC电子材料与加工的四门本科课程，为下一代科学家和工程师提供实践培训，作为美国半导体制造业的未来劳动力。它还将为 UIUC 工程开放日的 K-12 学生开发有关 ALD 技术的学习模块，并为来自少数群体的当地高中生开发与 PE-ALD 相关的夏季研究项目。这些外展活动将有助于维持多样化的 STEM 人才管道。推动国家下一代半导体和纳米技术制造重要创新的核心能力是先进的纳米级薄膜沉积能力。 ALD 是一种独特而强大的气相沉积技术，其中通过重复两个连续执行的涉及基材表面自限化学反应的半循环，逐个亚单层合成超薄（通常为纳米级）薄膜。通过将远程等离子体源、流通式蒸气传输模块、原位椭圆偏振仪以及与手套箱的负载锁连接集成在单个系统中，这种定制的 ALD 系统能够保形沉积致密的针孔沉积物。多种材料的自由薄膜，包括金属、氮化物和氧化物。这可以在有限的热预算内使用定制合成的前体，在具有复杂表面拓扑的传统基底和空气敏感基底上完成，并在晶格尺度上精确控制材料化学计量和厚度。研究人员将利用这些能力沉积功能性薄膜材料，作为高性能逻辑和功率晶体管、铁电存储器、光波导、量子光子器件、量子隧道结、拓扑量子位、电池、热伪装器件、生物传感器、和生物医学植入物。该仪器将使研究成为可能，从而带来微电子、量子科学和生物医学工程领域的变革性技术。它还将加速新型 ALD 前驱体的开发及其沉积工艺的优化。该项目由土木、机械和制造创新部门的重大仪器研究计划 (MRI) 和先进制造计划 (AM) 联合资助（该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。