MRI: Acquisition of a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) Tool with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)

加州大学戴维斯分校（UC Davis）提议获得一种薄膜沉积仪器，作为一种共享资源，用于对材料、工艺和设备进行基础研究，以用于广泛的重要应用。该仪器能够在低于200摄氏度的温度下，在纳米到宏观结构上生产高质量、高适形的薄膜（如金刚石或二氧化硅），其厚度和材料性能可控制。这种低温薄膜沉积的能力可以使传统基板（如组装半导体、金属和陶瓷）以及柔性基板（包括塑料和聚合物）的涂层成为可能。该仪器还将在生物相容性材料上沉积薄膜，用于药物输送、传感、成像和印刷电子产品。这种新设备开发的技术，无论是直接还是间接，都可能在广泛的应用领域对我们的生活质量产生革命性的影响，包括通信、运输和信息技术的超可靠系统，基于辐射探测的安全响应，可持续能源收集，传感和生物工程系统。加州大学戴维斯分校、北加州高中和社区学院的大量学生，包括许多来自少数民族和代表性不足的社区的学生，以及博士后研究人员，将有机会在围绕该工具的沉浸式跨学科环境中接受教育，为他们解决重要问题做好独特的准备，并在当今竞争激烈的学术或工业环境中取得成功。一种电感耦合等离子体等离子体增强化学气相沉积仪器（ICP-PECVD）能够生产高质量、高适形的二氧化硅、氮化硅、氧氮化硅、碳化硅、非晶硅和类金刚石碳薄膜。该工具将使加州大学戴维斯分校的研究人员能够在薄膜中使用严格控制的成分和厚度，在20-200摄氏度的温度范围内控制掺杂和可调指数，沉积在各种表面和各种结构上。该工具允许研究纳米和微观结构，否则无法制造。使用ICP-PECVD工具的主要研究目标将包括：(1)在晶格匹配和不匹配的衬底上制造纳米和微尺度结构，以及用于光子学，能量转换，生物传感和MEMS/NEMS的集成器件；(2)对设备和系统进行无缺陷的保形钝化和封装，以提高效率和可靠性；(3)光电和能量转换器件用透射和反射涂层；(4)用于生物相容性和其他温度敏感材料的低温涂层，用于药物输送、传感、成像和印刷电子；(5)用于超可靠系统的新型半导体材料，如iii -氮化物。PECVD与ICP相结合的独特特性将允许在低温下运行，大大加强了一些正在进行的跨学科研究项目，并在其有效寿命内实现了更多的研究活动。该工具将在专业运行的环境中运行，以促进两个互补的研究维度的工作：(i)基于探究式的维度，定义未来技术的基础工程科学，包括新材料平台的要素，组件和设备创新，电路和系统设计，以及新工艺和制造科学；（ii）基于综合技术的应用维度，成为加州大学戴维斯分校测试平台的一部分，用于制作工作原型和系统，以测试学生和教职员工产生的新想法。

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) proposes to acquire a thin film deposition instrument to use as a shared resource for conducting fundamental research on materials, processes, and devices for a wide spectrum of important applications. The proposed instrument is capable of producing high quality,highly conformal thin films (such as diamond or silica) on nano to macroscale structures with controlled thickness and material properties at less than 200 degree centigrade temperature. Such capabilities for low-temperature thin-film deposition can enable coating of conventional substrates, such assemiconductors, metals and ceramics, as well as flexible substrates, including plastics and polymers. The instrument will also deposit thin films on biocompatible materials for application in drug delivery, sensing, imaging and printed electronics. Technologies developed as a result of this new equipment, both directly and indirectly, could have revolutionary impact on our quality of life in a wide spectrum of application areas, including ultra-reliable systems for communication, transportation and information technology, security response based on radiation detection, sustainable energy harvesting, sensing and bioengineering systems. Large numbers of students at UC Davis, Northern California high schools and community colleges, including many students from minority and underrepresented communities, as well as postdoctoral researchers, will have the opportunity to be educated in the immersive transdisciplinaryenvironment surrounding this tool, uniquely preparing them to solve important problems and succeed in today's highly competitive academic or industrial environments. A plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition instrument with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-PECVD) is capable of producing high quality, highly conformal thin films of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxy-nitride, silicon carbide, amorphous silicon, and diamond-like carbon. The tool will enable researchers at the University of California, Davis, to use tightly controlled composition and thickness in the thin film, with controlled doping and tunable index in 20-200 degree centigrade temperature ranges, deposited on a variety of surfaces and over a range of structures. The tool allows investigation of nano and microstructures that otherwise could not be fabricated. The principal objectives of research using the ICP-PECVD tool will include: (1) fabrication of nano and microscale structures on lattice matched and mismatched substrates and integrated devices for photonics, energy conversion, biosensing, and MEMS/NEMS; (2) defect-free conformal passivation and encapsulation of devices and systems for improved efficiency and reliability; (3) transmission and reflection coatings for optoelectronic and energy conversion devices; (4) low-temperature coatings for biocompatible and other temperature sensitive materials for applications in drug delivery, sensing, imaging and printed electronics; and (5) new semiconductor materials such as III-nitride for ultra-reliable systems. The unique characteristics of PECVD integrated with ICP will allow operations at low temperatures, significantly strengthen a number of ongoing interdisciplinary research programs, and enable an even greater number of research activities over itsuseful lifetime. The tool will be operated in a professionally run environment to facilitate work in two complementary research dimensions: (i) inquiry-based dimension defining the foundational engineering science for future technologies, including the elements of new materials platforms, component and device innovation, circuit and systems design, and novel process and manufacturing science; and (ii) integrative technology-based application dimension that becomes part of a test bed at UC Davis for making working prototypes and systems to test novel ideas generated by students and faculty members.