Development of a Broadband Optical End-point Monitor for Thin Film Deposition Systems**

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The development of complex devices such as solar cells, sensors, optical displays and microelectronic chips typically rely on enhanced thin-film deposition methods. The thin-film coatings required for such applications are composed of very fine layers (i.e. several nanometers to micrometers in thickness) of one or several materials which are deposited on the surface of a substrate (glass, metal, semiconductor, etc.). Typical techniques to achieve this include spin-coating, dip-coating, thermal evaporation and physical vapor deposition. These coatings control the physical properties (optical, electrical, etc.) of the surface of a material. The ever-growing demand for complex and precise thin films by the high-tech markets have strongly pushed suppliers of thin-film deposition systems to develop innovative manufacturing techniques. The tight layer specifications can marginally be met with traditional thin-film deposition and monitoring methods. Therefore, the new trend is to optically monitor the growth of the thin layers during the deposition process using broadband light. Intlvac is a Canadian company currently expanding in the market of thin-film deposition systems. They wish to develop, with the help of Professor Réal Vallée's team at Laval University, a broadband optical end-point monitor aiming to precisely measure the thickness of each layer during the deposition process. The integration of this monitor into Intlvac's deposition systems will greatly enhance their manufacturing capabilities allowing customers worldwide to produce thin-film coatings meeting the tight specifications requested by different industries. The end goal of this project is to transfer this technology to the company by integrating this monitor into Intlvac's commercial systems and thus allow their customers to benefit from such enhanced capabilities. Since complex thin-film manufacturing is challenging but in growing demand, the fact that Intlvac remains competitive in this market is a strategic and economic asset to Canada.******