Atomic Layer Deposition - PDF Free Download

Atomic Layer Deposition Ville Malinen R&D Engineer Nanopinnoitteita koneenrakentajille 2010 1

Introduction 1) Overview of Beneq 2) Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), to deposit thin films, which Are dense and pinhole free Are extremely conformal Can be controlled accurately in thickness and composition 3) Applications of ALD in various fields Present situation and future 2

Company Info Established: Ownership: Products: Markets: 2005 MBO spin out from Nextrom (ex. Nokia-Maillefer) Privately owned, venture capital funded, (Via Venture Partners, Inventure) Industrial equipment and technology for functional coatings based on ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) and aerosol (nhalo, naero ) technologies. Strong IPR-portfolio with over 60 patent families. Cleantech, biomedical and renewable energy industries, especially photovoltaics, flexible electronics and flat glass Personnel: 56 Headquarter: Sales Offices: Sales Network: Vantaa, Finland Germany (Europe), China, USA 20 sales representatives in Europe, Middle-East, Asia, Oceania and South-America 3

Atomic Layer Deposition - Process ALD cycle ALD is a surface controlled, self-saturating gas phase process Precursors react chemically with the surface leading to complete coverage Films are grown one molecule layer at a time by repeating the ALD cycle until the desired thickness is reached Process temperatures range from 20 to 600 C Typical process pressure is around 1 (hpa, mbar, Torr) Glass, polymers, metals and ceramics can be coated 4

Atomic Layer Deposition - Benefits The saturating, layer-by-layer growth mode of ALD process is the origin of its main benefits 1) Films deposited by ALD are dense and pinhole free ALD films have very good barrier properties 2) Saturating surface controlled reactions lead to extreme conformality Complex 3D structures can be coated with films of excellent thickness uniformity Photo courtesy of Aalto University, Finland 5

Atomic Layer Deposition - Benefits 3) Thickness of films deposited by ALD can be controlled very accurately An ALD process is repeatable by nature Films are smooth and have a sub-nanometer resolution 4) Precise thickness control allows engineering of novel materials Oxides, nitrides, carbides and noble metals can be deposited as pure materials or as tailored layer structures and mixtures 6

Atomic Layer Deposition - Benefits ALD is considered to be a slow process for small substrates and thin films More and more a myth An ALD process can be scaled up after the R&D phase ALD is a batch process by nature, >10m 2 per batch An optimized batch size can increase the through-put and lower the cost considerably Film thicknesses can reach several micrometers Substrate holders can be designed case by case for optimum performance Roll-to-Roll processing for mass production is under development TFS 200R 300 m/min Photo courtesy of Kalevala Koru. 7

Atomic Layer Deposition - Benefits Examples of coated flat surface areas 100 mm wafer single side 0.01 m 2 300 mm wafer double side 0.1 m 2 Small R&D tools 0.1 to 0.5 m 2 Minibatch of 10x200mm + walls 1 m 2 TFS 1200 single side + walls 3 m 2 P400A 40 shelves + walls 10 m 2 P800 5xP400A 50 m 2 8

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications New applications are best discovered by people new to ALD Applications where ALD can be used: If you want to have a clean surface Coat it! A film with a thickness corresponding well with the roughness of the surface has a smoothing effect Surfaces can be functionalized with certain groups to obtain new properties Hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces Antibacterial surfaces 3D structures and porous materials Tubes coated from all sides by ALD OPTICS LETTERS / Vol. 30, No. 14 / July 15, 2005 Wang et al. 9

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications ALD films can be utilized as efficient barriers ALD growth mode produces dense, pinhole free films Thin films are less prone to cracking g/m 2 /day 10-1 10-2 10-3 Food packaging Medical packaging Electrochromic displays RFID Sensors 10-4 10-5 10-6 Thin-film batteries Solar cells OLEDs J. Meyer et al., Adv. Mater. 21, 1845 (2009) Beneq has developed an industrial scale ALD, low cost barrier: nclear WVTR (Water Vapor Transmission Rate) < 10-6 g/m 2 /day @ RT 10

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications ALD films have been studied on stainless steel: To prevent the diffusion of stainless steel constituents XPS Results of steel components (Ti and N signals omitted from the table) Relative Amounts in at.% (AXIS 165 XPS-Spectrometer, KRATOS Analytical) SS Grade (Surface Finish) Film Material Thickness (nm) T Deposition ( C) T Anneal ( C) Cr Fe Mg Mn S 304 (DB) 26 70-4 - 350 72 20-5 - 450 79 - - 3 17 TiN 20 425 3 8 38 - - Al 2 O 3 /TiN 20/20 300/400 - - - - - 430 (DB) 22 78 - - - 350 68 32 - - - 450 88 - - - 12 TiN 20 425 3 27 32 - - Al 2 O 3 /TiN 20/20 300/400 - - - - - 316L (DB) Al 2 O 3 /TiN 20/20 300/400 - - - - - 316L (2B) Al 2 O 3 /TiN 20/20 300/400 - - - - - 11

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications Steel and metal surfaces are often coated for better Abrasion/corrosion resistance Friction properties Photocatalytic properties Conformal ALD films could enable new applications in geometrically challenging substrates Al 2 O 3 /TiN (20/350 nm) on AISI 304 DB 12

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications Taber Abrasion Test Parameters (Taber Abraser 5135) Load (g) 250 Abradant Wheel CS-10 Rotation Speed 60 (rpm) Test Duration 500 (rounds) Interpretation Visual Inspection and Weight Loss per Every 50 Cycles Abrasion Test Results AISI 304 DB Abrasion Test Results AISI 430 DB Weight Loss (mg) 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Coated 304 Ref. 304 Weight Loss (mg) 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Coated 430 Ref. 430 Number of Cycles Number of Cycles 13

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications 14

Atomic Layer Deposition Applications Other application areas include but are not limited to: Surface (both rear and front) passivation of c-si solar cells Na-diffusion barriers on soda lime glass => lower cost substrate Hybrid PVD/ALD solutions to fix pin hole related issues Thin Film PV: Cd-free buffer (Zn(O,S), MgO, In 2 S 3 ) for CIGS Solar mirrors: Barriers and reflectivity enhancements Strengthened glass by filling surface and edge trenches and nanocracks with conformal ALD films Powders and grains for various purposes 295 µs Carrier lifetime 331 µs In c-si solar cells 15

Strategy Beneq has a strong business model based on three steps: We identify attractive business opportunities We understand our customer s needs We commercialize coating equipment and technology into industrial solutions Concept verification and pilot production Coating and material development services In-house coating systems and capacity for the customer 16

Strategy We are interested in finding partners and customers who Think they have problems which could be solved by using coating technologies Are interested in developing their products further by using nanoscale coatings Are involved in either basic or applied research and wish to explore the potential of new technologies Beneq has strong experience in Large scale industrial coating equipment Process development and R&D equipment for ALD We are always looking for new opportunities to expand ALD into discovering new coating solutions for both micro- and macroscale substrates World record 1,20x1,20 m substrate size The launching of the first roll-to-roll R&D machine 17