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在基材上的强度。ACIM脱粘剂（商标）利用可控的微空化，通过对薄膜进行可控的侵蚀，直接显示薄膜的粘附强度。ACIM是一种建设性地控制声微空化的手段。基材不会受到伤害。ACIM去粘剂（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可控的方式被空化侵蚀。它本质上是一种只使用小面积薄膜的非破坏性方法。不需要特殊的样品制备，并且该方法能够进行原位检测。ACIM脱粘工具将被开发用于微电子制造。半导体芯片依靠其构成的各种薄膜层来可靠地粘合。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一种测定薄膜粘附强度的新方法；对薄膜工程科学的发展具有重要的推动作用。ACIM的可控侵蚀本身可以用来创建新生表面，为薄膜沉积做准备。最终，ACIM脱粘剂（商标）的原理依赖于控制空化侵蚀，事实上，它依赖于控制相变的最基本过程，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有更广泛的应用，例如在化学和核反应堆的沸腾过程控制中。对这种声介导成核控制的研究可以形成一个活跃的研究和教育领域。

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.