MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Atomic-Layer Deposition System with Remote Plasma Activation of Surface Processes

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This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a customized plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) system, which will be housed in a shared facility at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This instrument will provide regional and national access to its unique capability of depositing various high-quality thin-film materials with atomic precise thickness at low processing temperatures. It will be used by investigators to develop multiple technologies critical for U.S. economic development and national security, including microelectronics, 5G/6G wireless communications, quantum information science, biotechnologies, and energy storage. In addition, this PE-ALD system will be used in four undergraduate courses in electronic materials and processing at UIUC, providing hands-on training of the next-generation of scientists and engineers as future workforce for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry. It will also enable the development of a learning module about the ALD technique for K-12 students for UIUC's Engineering Open House, and PE-ALD related summer research projects for local high-school students from minority groups. These outreach events will contribute to sustaining the diverse STEM talent pipeline. A core capability driving nationally important innovations in next-generation semiconductor and nanotechnology manufacturing is advanced nanoscale thin-film deposition capabilities. ALD is a unique and powerful vapor-phase deposition technique in which ultrathin, i.e., typically nanometer scale, films are synthesized sub-monolayer by sub-monolayer by repeating two sequentially executed half cycles involving self-limiting chemical reactions on a substrate surface. By integrating a remote plasma source, flow-through vapor delivery module, in situ ellipsometry, and load-lock connection with a glove box in a single system, this custom-built ALD system provides the capability to conformally deposit dense, pin-hole-free thin films of a wide spectrum of materials, including metals, nitrides, and oxides. This can be done using custom-synthesized precursors within a limited thermal budget, on both conventional and air-sensitive substrates featuring complex surface topologies, with precisely controlled material stoichiometry and thickness on the lattice scale. The investigators will utilize these capabilities to deposit functional thin film materials as the core component in high performance logic and power transistors, ferroelectric memory, optical wave guide, quantum photonic devices, quantum tunnel junctions, topological qubits, battery, thermal camouflage devices, biosensors, and biomedical implants. This instrument will enable research which will lead to transformative technologies in microelectronics, quantum sciences, and biomedical engineering. It will also accelerate development of new ALD precursors and the optimization of their deposition processes.This project is jointly funded by the Major Instrumentation Research Program (MRI) and the Advanced Manufacturing Program (AM) in the division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).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.