SBIR Phase I: Single Beam Ion Sources for Advanced Materials Processing

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种单束离子源，使高质量薄膜材料和相关产品的制造成为可能。薄膜广泛应用于半导体器件、显示器、太阳能电池板、摩擦学涂层、手机、光学滤光片和微机电系统，对生活质量产生了重大影响。这些细分行业的年市场规模超过6000亿美元，并一直在稳步增长。生产薄膜的常用方法包括物理和化学气相沉积，目前在薄膜质量和可制造性之间进行权衡。高沉积速率导致原子松散堆积，从而导致材料性能不稳定。如今，生产高质量的致密薄膜需要在高温下缓慢沉积，这导致了高制造成本和其他限制，例如无法使用柔性衬底。离子源是等离子体产生装置，它使离子束能够在原子水平上与材料相互作用，并有效地产生致密的薄膜。单束离子源为薄膜制造带来了多种好处，包括优越的稳定性，改善的附着力，低电阻率，高透光率和光滑的表面。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将验证单束离子源的技术和商业可行性，特别是适用于制造高质量的薄膜和器件。在离子束辅助薄膜沉积中，离子同时与原子相互作用，因为它们是从另一个来源沉积的。离子将动能传递给表面的原子，这样它们就可以四处移动，形成致密的薄膜。本项目提出的单束离子源可以产生能量可调的高度聚焦的离子束，以实现生长膜的最佳加工。这些独特的功能是由创新的电磁场设计实现的，它有效地产生等离子体，并在狭窄的光束中提取离子。与传统的赛道型离子源不同，单束离子源可以精确控制离子入射角，对沉积膜的表面形貌有很强的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a single beam ion source that enables the manufacturing of high-quality thin film materials and related products. Thin films have a significant impact on quality of life as they are used widely in semiconductor devices, displays, solar panels, tribological coatings, cell phones, optical filters, and micro-electro-mechanical systems. The annual market of these industry segments exceeds $600 billion and has been steadily increasing. Common methods to produce thin films include physical and chemical vapor depositions, which today have tradeoffs between film quality and manufacturability. A high deposition rate results in loosely packed atoms and subsequently unstable materials properties. Producing high-quality dense films today requires slow deposition at elevated temperatures leading to high manufacturing cost and other limitations, such as inability to use flexible substrates. Ion sources are plasma generation devices that enable ion beams to interact with materials at the atomic level and efficiently produce dense films. The single beam ion sources bring in multiple benefits for thin film fabrication, including superior stability, improved adhesion, low electrical resistivity, high optical transmittance, and smooth surfaces.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will validate the technical and commercial feasibilities of the single beam ion sources particularly suitable for fabricating high-quality thin films and devices. In ion beam assisted thin-film deposition, ions simultaneously interact with the atoms as they are deposited from another source. The ions transfer kinetic energies to the surface atoms so that they can move around to form densely packed films. The single beam ion sources proposed in this project can produce a highly focused beam of ions with tunable energy for optimal processing of the growing films. These unique features are enabled by an innovative design of the electromagnetic fields, which efficiently generate plasmas and extract the ions in a narrow beam. Unlike the conventional racetrack type ion sources, the single beam ion sources can accurately control the ion incident angle, which has strong effects on the surface morphology of the deposited film.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.