NIRT: Electron Beam Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) - A New Tool for Manufacturing Nanomaterials and Devices

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The goals of this Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT) research project are: 1) To develop a novel nanoscale manufacturing tool that utilizes EB-CVD, electron beam surface enhancement, or etching; 2) To obtain a fundamental understanding, via modeling and experimentation, of the physical, chemical, and materials phenomena that control deposition, surface enhancement, and etching; 3) To identify process-nanostructure-property relationships for a key set of materials that will permit fabrication of advanced nanoscale materials and devices, including integrating nanomaterials with microsystems. Nanoscale materials and devices offer great promise for many important civilian and military applications, but their fabrication often proves problematic. Similarly, integrating nanostructures with microsystems or other nano structures is one of the main roadblocks to transitioning from single structure fabrication to true nanomanufacturing. This research focuses on a technology that has an excellent potential for solving these problems -- Electron Beam Chemical Vapor Deposition or simply EB-CVD. Specifically, two electron beam processes will be developed. Both are capable of depositing metals and ceramics by EB-CVD and are complimentary in nature. The first process uses a tightly focused electron beam, i.e., beam diameters as small as 1 nm, to achieve high spatial resolution of the fabricated structures. The second process uses a broad beam and relies on constructive and destructive interference to permit patterning of large areas, leading to high throughput manufacturing. The judicious combination of these two processes offers a unique opportunity to manufacture very complex structures by computer-controlled concurrent movement of the narrowly focused and broad beams relative to the substrate.Successful completion of this research will have significant broad impact. It will further the basic understanding of electron beam CVD and provide specifics for the deposition, surface enhancement, and etching of key materials permitting high volume fabrication of advanced nanoscale materials and devices, including microelectronics, photonics, sensors, nanocatalysts, and hybrid nano/micro systems. The EB-CVD systems will be centers for campus-wide nanomanufacturing research. Research methods and results will be transitioned to industry as well as incorporated into undergraduate and graduate courses. Effort will be made to ensure that female and underrepresented minority, K-12, REU, and graduate students are included.