Metrology, etching and contact annealing tools for fabrication of Microsystems and Nanotechnology devices; transistor-VCSELs novel materials, sensors, lab-on-a-chip systems

这笔赠款是为洁净室设备的关键UBC的制造研究工作在纳米技术领域。 两种计量工具将使新材料和器件的精确特性：1）薄膜测量系统使我们能够确定薄膜的厚度和光学特性，如光致抗蚀剂，半导体如硅，绝缘体如氧化物，过渡金属氧化物超导体和聚合物。 2)基于触针的表面轮廓仪能够测量薄膜不透明（例如金属）、透明或用于表征表面蚀刻深度的拓扑结构。 自动XY载物台提供晶圆的测绘，以表征蚀刻均匀性，以及确定薄膜应力。 该补助金还用于升级两台设备：1）升级ECR等离子体蚀刻机，以添加SF6气体，从而能够选择性蚀刻GaAs而不是AlGaAs并蚀刻Si，以及2）升级配备控制软件的快速热退火设备，以提高再现性，耐用性和可用性，用于退火我们器件上的金属触点。 该基金将资助以下几个研究项目：1）我们正在设计和制造一种新器件，晶体管VCSEL，它是高频异质结双极晶体管（HBT）与垂直腔面发射激光器（VCSEL）的集成。 这种革命性的半导体激光发射器技术将增加光通信网络的容量，并实现芯片间光互连; 2）光子晶体器件的纳米纤维; 3）用于光电应用的半导体材料研究，超导过渡金属氧化物; 4）碳纳米管器件; 5）Si纳米线器件; 6）聚合物气体传感器; 7）植入式传感器; 8）神经探针;和9）芯片实验室系统。

This grant is for clean-room equipment critical for UBC's fabrication research efforts in the nanotechnology area.  Two metrology tools will enable the precise characterization of the novel materials and devices: 1) A Thin-Film Measurement System allows us to determine the thickness and optical properties of thin-films, such as photoresist, semiconductors such as silicon, insulators such as oxides, transition metal oxide superconductors and polymers.  2) A stylus-based surface profilometer enables measurements of topology where the thin-films are opaque (e.g. metals), transparent, or for characterizing the depth of surface etches.  The automated XY stage provides mapping of the wafer to characterize etching uniformity, as well as to determine the thin-film stress.    This grant is also for upgrades of two equipment: 1) upgrade to the ECR plasma etcher to add SF6 gas, which enables the selective etching of GaAs over AlGaAs and etching of Si, and 2) upgrade to the Rapid Thermal Anneal equipment with control software to improve reproducibility, robustness and usability, for annealing metal contacts on our devices.    Several research programmes will be supported by this grant: 1) We are designing and fabricating a new device, a Transistor VCSEL, which is the integration of a high frequency Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) with a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL).  This revolutionary semiconductor laser transmitter technology will increase the capacity of optical communication networks, and enable inter-chip optical interconnects;  2) Nanofabrication of Photonic Crystal devices; 3) Semiconductor material research for optoelectronic applications, superconductor transition metal oxides; 4) Carbon Nanotube devices; 5) Si Nanowire devices; 6) Polymer gas sensors; 7) Implantable sensors; 8) Neural probes; and 9) Lab-on-a-chip systems.