Atomic layer deposition is a precise process used to deposit a few atom-thick layers of material onto a substrate for use in microprocessors, sensors, and medical devices. It requires expertise in physics, chemistry, and engineering. Organic and hybrid materials can also be produced using this technique. High k dielectric materials such as zirconium dioxide, hafnium dioxide, and aluminum oxide are being tested as substitutes for silicon dioxide in transistors.
Atomic layer deposition is a chemical process used in the manufacture of microprocessors, optical films, and other synthetic and organic thin films for sensors, medical devices, and advanced electronics in which a layer of material a few atoms thick is precisely deposited onto a substrate . There are different approaches and methods to deposit atomic layers, and it has become an essential feature of nanotechnology research and material science research in electrical engineering, energy, and medical applications. The process often involves atomic layer epitaxy or molecular layer epitaxy, in which a very thin layer of crystalline substance in the form of a semiconductor silicon or metallic compound is attached to the surface of a thicker layer of similar material.
Thin film deposition is an area of research and product manufacturing that requires the expertise of several scientific disciplines due to the fine level of control that must be exercised to produce useful devices and materials. It often involves R&D in physics, chemistry, and various types of engineering from mechanical to chemical engineering. Research in chemistry determines how chemical processes occur at the atomic and molecular levels and what are the self-limiting factors for the growth of crystals and metal oxides, so that the deposition of atomic layers can consistently produce layers with uniform characteristics. Chemical reaction chambers for atomic layer deposition can produce deposition rates of 1.1 angstroms or 0.11 nanometers of material per reaction cycle, by controlling the amount of various chemical reactants and the temperature of the chamber. Common chemicals used in such processes include silicon dioxide, SiO2; magnesium oxide, MgO; and tantalum nitride, TaN.
A similar form of thin film deposition technique is used to grow organic films, which usually starts with fragments of organic molecules such as various types of polymers. Hybrid materials can also be produced using organic and inorganic chemicals for use in products such as stents that can be placed in human blood vessels and coated with sustained-release drugs to fight heart disease. Alberta researchers at the National Institute of Nanotechnology in Canada have created a similar thin film layer with a traditional stainless steel stent to support open collapsed arteries starting in 2011. The stainless steel stent is coated with a thin layer of glass silica which is used as a substrate to which to bind carbohydrate sugar material with a thickness of about 60 atomic layers. The carbohydrate then interacts with the immune system in a positive way to prevent the body from developing a rejection response to the presence of the steel stent in the artery.
There are hundreds of chemical compounds used in the deposition of atomic layers and they serve numerous purposes. One of the most widely studied as of 2011 is the development of high k dielectric materials in the integrated circuit industry. As transistors get smaller and smaller, below the size of 10 nanometers, a process known as quantum tunneling in which electrical charges leak through insulating barriers makes the traditional use of silicon dioxide for transistors impractical. Films of high k dielectric material being tested in atomic layer deposition as substitutes include zirconium dioxide, ZnO2; hafnium dioxide, HfO2; and aluminum oxide, Al2O3, as these materials demonstrate much better resistance to tunneling.
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