MRI: Development of an Integrated Thin Film Growth System with Comprehensive In-situ Characterization for Research and Education

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This is an instrument development award from the Major Research Instrumentation program to Rutgers University New Brunswick. A large-scale, integrated instrument will be developed, which combines atomic layer deposition (ALD) growth and UHV preparation chambers with a unique array of characterization techniques, including medium energy ion scattering (MEIS), infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), scanning probe microscopy, as well as more conventional surface probes. This instrument will significantly advance the forefront of materials synthesis by coupling a promising and novel growth technique for a wide range of materials with the in-situ characterization needed to identify, understand, and ultimately tailor the key aspects of the growth process. It will directly benefit research spanning the range from microelectronics to quantum confinement. It will also play a key role in initiating collaborative work and exposing students to a wide variety of techniques and industrial applications. In particular, it will be the centerpiece of a recently NSF-funded IGERT program on engineering bio-interfaces and various other interdisciplinary programs at Rutgers. As devices become smaller, there is a need to develop growth techniques to deposit one atomic layer at a time, to check that this is done in a very uniform manner, and to do so over large, patterned areas. A unique instrument will be developed that incorporates a process where atoms can be deposited onto semiconductor surfaces very uniformly, one layer at a time, and sophisticated techniques that make it possible to "see" each layer of atoms individually. The growth technique is based on vapors reaction with surfaces, but tailored to limit the deposition to only one atomic layer per pass. The instrument will make it possible to make transistors and other devices with a precision that was not possible before and to understand how each layer is formed. Students will be trained on this state-of-the-art instrument and interact with and interdisciplinary team of scientists from the fields of physics, chemistry, material science, electrical and biomedical engineering.