IMR: Acquisition of a Biased Target Ion Beam Deposition System for Materials Research & Integrated Education Activities

该项目将采用一种新型的脉冲偏置多靶沉积仪器，以支持德克萨斯州立大学日益增长的先进材料研究和综合教育活动。偏置靶离子束沉积（BTIBD）仪器将允许制造各种各样的人工结构的分层薄膜和合金，具有精确控制的亚纳米层特征和可调节的表面/界面特性。该仪器实现了脉冲偏置靶方法，克服了传统离子束和（脉冲）磁控溅射技术的许多局限性，是德克萨斯州立大学开创性的自由基原子辅助离子束溅射工具的重大进步。该项目的主要目标是：（1）证明了这种新工具用于制造定制的人工工程纳米层材料和合金的组合能力，（2）证明了BTIBD能够作为原子层沉积技术的更简单的溅射对应物来实现，以及（3）BTIBD方法在先进器件制造中的工业实施的可行性的论证。该项目将导致BTIBD多目标原型系统的开发与4波公司，这种偏置沉积概念的先驱密切合作。BTIBD系统将用于制造复杂的薄膜材料，包括磁性光子石榴石波导材料; ZnO基和GaN基宽带隙半导体材料;用于MOS和磁性隧道结应用的稀土/过渡金属氧化物;用于磁各向异性和磁致伸缩研究的多晶和外延铁磁合金薄膜;以及过渡金属硅化物（用于ULSI栅极堆栈应用）。这些材料对基础和应用（与器件相关）研究都很有意义，对磁存储、微电子、电信和微机电系统等应用具有潜在影响。该系统将能够快速原型化具有许多不同组成原子的新薄膜材料，并提供用于调整膜中界面处的原子分布的手段，这对于控制这些系统中的材料特性非常重要。该系统将用于生产各种薄膜，这些薄膜在电子，光学和磁性应用中非常有用。正在与一家私营公司合作开发这一系统，该系统的交付将提供一个原型沉积，以后可在其他机构复制。

This project will adapt a novel pulse-biased multi-target deposition instrument for supporting Texas State University's growing advanced materials research and integrated education activities. The Biased Target Ion Beam Deposition (BTIBD) instrument will permit the fabrication of a wide variety of artificially-structured layered films and alloys with precisely-controlled sub-nanolayer features and adjustable surface/interface characteristics. The instrument implements a pulsed biased target approach that overcomes many of the limitations of traditional ion beam and (pulsed) magnetron sputtering techniques, and is a major evolutionary advancement of Texas State's pioneering radical atom assist ion beam sputtering tool. Major goals of this project will be: (1) the demonstration of the combinatorial capabilities of this new tool for fabricating tailored artificially-engineered nanolayered materials and alloys, (2) the demonstration that BTIBD is capable of implementation as a simpler sputtering counterpart to the atomic layer deposition technique, and (3) the demonstration of the feasibility of the BTIBD approach for industrial implementation in advanced device manufacturing. This proposed project will result in a BTIBD multi-target prototype system developed in close collaborative interaction with 4 Wave, Inc, the pioneers of this biased deposition concept. The BTIBD system will be used to fabricate complex film materials including magnetic photonic garnet waveguide materials; ZnO-based and GaN-based wide-bandgap semiconductor materials; rare-earth/transition metal oxides for MOS and magnetic tunnel junction applications; polycrystalline and epitaxial ferromagnetic alloy films for magnetic anisotropy and magnetostriction investigations; and transition metal-silicides (for ULSI gate stack applications). These are materials of interest for both fundamental and applied (device-related) investigations, with potential impact towards applications including magnetic storage, microelectronics, telecommunications and microelectromechanical systems.This project will explore a new thin-film deposition system. The system will be able to rapidly prototype new thin-film materials with many different constituent atoms, and provide the means for tuning the atomic profiles at interfaces in the films, which is very important for controlling material properties in these systems. The system will be used to produce a variety of films that are useful in electronic, optical and magnetic applications. Development of this system is being done in conjunction with a private company and delivery of this system will provide a prototype deposition which may be duplicated later at other institutions.