SBIR Phase II: ACIM deBonder: Thin Film Integrity Testing Using Controlled Microcavitation

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将开发一种新的方法来确定薄膜锚定到衬底上的强度。ACIM deBonder（商标）使用受控的微空化，通过使薄膜经受受控的侵蚀来直接显示薄膜的粘附强度。ACIM是一种结构性控制声微空化的方法。基板不受损害。ACIM deBonder（商标）将适用于任何类型的薄膜或涂层，这些薄膜或涂层可以通过空化以受控方式被侵蚀。它本质上是一种非破坏性的方法，只使用小面积的电影。该方法不需要特殊的样品制备，能够进行现场检测。ACIM去键合工具将被开发用于微电子制造。半导体芯片依赖于其构造的各种膜层来可靠地结合。除半导体外，deBonder还可用于光学涂层，以及涉及薄膜表面改性的所有环境。该项目的广泛影响将是确定薄膜粘合强度的新方法;预计将推动薄膜工程科学的发展。ACIM的受控侵蚀本身可用于在薄膜沉积的准备中产生新生表面。最终，ACIM deBonder（商标）的原理依赖于受控的空化侵蚀，实际上它依赖于控制相变的非常基本的过程，即成核的控制-在固相附近将液体转化为气体的能力。这应该在各种化学处理中具有更广泛的应用，例如在化学和核反应堆中的沸腾过程的控制中。这种声学介导的成核控制的研究可以形成研究和教育的活跃领域/区域。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new method of determining how strong a thin film anchors to a substrate. The ACIM deBonder(trade mark)uses controlled microcavitation to directly reveal a thin film's adhesion strength by subjecting it to controlled erosion. ACIM is a means of constructively controlling acoustic microcavitation. Substrates are not harmed. The ACIM deBonder(trade mark) will be applicable to any type of film or coating that can be eroded in a controlled manner by cavitation. It is essentially a nondestructive method that only uses small areas of films. No special sample preparation is needed and the method is capable of in situ inspection. The ACIM deBonder tool will be developed for use in microelectronic manufacture. Semiconductor chips rely on the various film layers of their constitution to bond reliably. Beyond semiconductors the deBonder could be useful in optical coatings, and all contexts involving surface modification involving films.The broaderimpacts of this project will be a new method of determining the adhesion strength of thin films; it is expected to advance the science of thin film engineering. The controlled erosion of ACIM can itself be used to create nascent surfaces in preparation for thin film deposition. Ultimately, the principle of ACIM deBonder (trade mark) relies controlled caviational erosion, in fact it relies on controlling the very fundamental process of phase change, the control of nucleation--the ability to convert a liquid into a gas in the vicinity of a solid phase. This should have much wider applications in a variety of chemical processing, e.g. in the control of the boiling processes in chemical and nuclear reactors. The study of this acoustically mediated nucleation control could form an active field/area of research and education.