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

太阳能电池、传感器、光学显示器和微电子芯片等复杂设备的开发通常依赖于增强的薄膜沉积方法。这种应用所需的薄膜涂层由沉积在衬底(玻璃、金属、半导体等)表面的一种或多种材料的非常精细的层(即几纳米到微米厚)组成。实现这一目标的典型技术包括旋涂、浸涂、热蒸发和物理气相沉积。这些涂层控制物理性能(光学、电学等)。指材料的表面。高科技市场对复杂和精密薄膜的需求不断增长，有力地推动了薄膜沉积系统供应商开发创新的制造技术。用传统的薄膜沉积和监测方法可以略微满足致密层的要求。因此，利用宽带光对沉积过程中的薄层生长进行光学监测是新的发展趋势。Intlvac是一家加拿大公司，目前在薄膜沉积系统市场上不断扩张。他们希望在拉瓦尔大学Réal Vallée教授团队的帮助下，开发一种宽带光学终点监测器，旨在精确测量沉积过程中每一层的厚度。将该显示器集成到Intlvac的沉积系统将极大地增强其制造能力，使全球客户能够生产满足不同行业要求的严格规格的薄膜涂层。该项目的最终目标是通过将该监视器集成到Intlvac的商业系统中来将这项技术转让给公司，从而使他们的客户能够从这种增强的能力中受益。由于复杂的薄膜制造具有挑战性，但需求不断增长，Intlvac在这个市场上保持竞争力这一事实对加拿大来说是一项战略和经济资产。

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.******