Course detail

Thin Films Deposition and Surface Modification Technologies

CEITEC VUT-F4280Acad. year: 2019/2020

Not applicable.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

3

Learning outcomes of the course unit

At the end of the course, the student will be able to: explain principles of thin film deposition utilizing gases/vapors;
explain basic processes taking place during material evaporation and sputtering of targets with energetic particle beams;
describe processes taking place in plasma of electrical discharges;
name different types of plasma sources/reactors for the deposition of thin films and surface modifications;
describe various methods of thin film deposition (vacuum evaporation, magnetron sputtering, CVD, ALD, epitaxy, PECVD) with the emphasis on differences in underlaying processes and experimental requirements of these methods;
suggest suitable thin film deposition method considering the final requested parameters of the product.

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is based on lectures that provide a detailed overview of the subject. The block of two laboratory exercises is organized at the end of semester. In the frame of this laboratories the students will train two methods of thin film deposition, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and magnetron sputtering.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

individual talk

Course curriculum

1. Overview of thin film deposition technologies, methods for surface modification and fabrication of microstructures and microdevices. Aplication of thin films and surface modifications. (Zajíčková)
2. Gas kinetics (definition of terms gas and vapors, Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of velocities, ideal-gas law, Knudsen equation, mean free path, transport properties). (Zajíčková)
3. Theory of thin film deposition (introduction to the process of deposition, chemical reactions, physisorption and chemisorption, surface diffusion, nucleation, surface free energy, mode of thin film growth). (Zajíčková)
4. Deposition of thin films by vacuum evaporation - example of physical vapor deposition (PVD) (thermodynamics of evaporation, evaporatino rate, evaporation of alloys and compounds, sources for vacuum evaporation, transport, usual methods for deposition monitoring). (Zajíčková)
5. Chemical methods for thin film deposition - chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). (Zajíčková)
6. Epitaxy - molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), CVD epitaxy, liquid epitaxy, atomic layer epitaxy (ALEp). (Zajíčková)
7. Introduction to plasma and plasmachemical processes, plasma sources/reactors for the deposition of thin films and surface modifications. (Zajíčková)
8. Experimental requirements of vacuum and plasmachemical reactors for deposition and surface modification. (Zajíčková)
9. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition - PECVD. Deposition of carbon films (crystalline diamond and amorphous diamond like carbon - DLC films), amorphous silicon, silicon oxides and nitrides films, organosilicon plasma polymers as protective coatings, amine and carboxyl plasma polymers for bioapplications. (Zajíčková)
10. PVD methods of sputter-deposition. Processes induced by impinging particles on the material surface (sputtering, energy transfer, secondary electron emission, implantation). Parameters influencing the speed of sputtering, properties of sputtered particles. Analytical calculation of sputtering yield, simulation of processes using freeware program TRIM. (Vašina)
11. Magnetron sputter-deposition of thin films. Influence of magnetic field. Reactive sputtering – properties of the process controlled by the reactive gas partial pressure or flow rate. Growth mechanism of metal films, nitrides and oxides. Influence of ion bombardment and substrate temperature on the quality and properties of deposited films. Modern trends in magnetron sputtering – IPVD (ion PVD) and pulsed sputtering. Aplication of PVD and IPVD – modern materials, microelectronics. (Vašina)
12. Introduction to the deposition reactors at DPE and CEITEC Nano Research Infrastructure. Deposition of thin films by PECVD, ALD, electron beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering. (Zajíčková, Vašina)

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The course provides an introduction to the deposition of thin films and surface modifications. The overview of the methods is structured into several basic types: physical vapor deposition - PVD (vacuum evaporation and magnetron sputter-deposition), chemical methods (chemical vapor deposition - CVD, atomic layer deposition - ALD and epitaxy) and plasmachemical methods (plasma modification of surfaces, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition - PECVD). The students will learn about the principles and the processes taking place during different deposition methods and modification of surfaces. The course informs about experimental conditions and requirements of different methods. The theoretical information are applied to specific examples of the processes important for industrial applications. The lectures are supplemented by laboratory tasks providing examples of several processes in the laboratories of Department of Physical Electronics and CEITEC Nano Research Infrastructure.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Not applicable.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

D. Depla et al Reactive sputter depositon, Springer Series in Material Science 109 2008

Recommended reading

Not applicable.