Atomic Layer Deposition for Lancaster Quantum Technology Centre Cleanroom

兰卡斯特量子技术中心洁净室的原子层沉积

• 批准号: EP/T023260/1
• 负责人: Ann Louise Heathwaite
• 金额: $ 19.11万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FT023260%2F1
• 关键词: Atomic; Layer; Deposition; Lancaster; Quantum

The award will be used for the acquisition of a piece of advanced materials fabrication equipment for a process called atomic layer deposition (ALD). As the name implies, ALD is capable of depositing materials one atomic layer at a time. ALD films are grown by exposing a sample surface to organic gaseous chemicals (called precursors), that contain the required elements for the material of choice, and react with the surface such that just one layer of atoms is deposited. A very common example is the insulating layer aluminium oxide. Organic molecules with single aluminium atoms (trimethylaluminum) are introduced into a chamber that is under vacuum. After waiting for it to react with the surface, excess gas is removed, and then the aluminium is oxidised, e.g. with water vapour. Repeating this cycle multiple times allows the build-up of layers of very high-quality material of precise thickness. Furthermore, since the process is controlled by the chemical reaction between the precursor gas and the sample surface, rather than a line-of-sight method where the materials are somehow aimed at the sample (as is the case with some other deposition methods), the entire surface is coated uniformly irrespective of its topology. ALD is very widely used in research and commercial production, especially in the microelectronics industry. For example, it is used to make the capacitors that store the charge in DRAM and the dielectric layers in the transistors that make up computer processors. In Lancaster ALD will be used to complement and enhance existing equipment in the Lancaster Quantum Technology cleanroom, for a wide range of research programmes in condensed matter and materials physics, materials chemistry and engineering. The equipment will benefit at least 18 members of academic staff from the Departments of Chemistry, Engineering and Physics, their research assistants and research students. It will also be available to external users from other universities and from industry.

该奖项将用于购买先进的材料制造设备，用于原子层沉积（ALD）工艺。顾名思义，ALD 能够一次沉积一个原子层的材料。 ALD 薄膜是通过将样品表面暴露于有机气态化学物质（称为前体）来生长的，其中含有所选材料所需的元素，并与表面发生反应，仅沉积一层原子。一个非常常见的例子是绝缘层氧化铝。将具有单个铝原子的有机分子（三甲基铝）引入真空室中。等待其与表面发生反应后，除去多余的气体，然后将铝氧化，例如：与水蒸气。多次重复此循环可以构建厚度精确的高质量材料层。此外，由于该过程是由前体气体和样品表面之间的化学反应控制的，而不是通过视线方法控制材料以某种方式瞄准样品（就像其他一些沉积方法的情况一样），整个表面均被均匀涂覆，无论其拓扑结构如何。 ALD 在研究和商业生产中应用非常广泛，特别是在微电子行业。例如，它用于制造 DRAM 中存储电荷的电容器以及构成计算机处理器的晶体管中的介电层。在兰卡斯特，ALD 将用于补充和增强兰卡斯特量子技术洁净室中的现有设备，用于凝聚态和材料物理、材料化学和工程领域的广泛研究项目。该设备将使化学系、工程系和物理系的至少 18 名学术人员、他们的研究助理和研究生受益。来自其他大学和行业的外部用户也可以使用它。