ALD from Lab to Fab Atom Level Control for Industrial Thin Films Kokkola Material Week September 23, 2014 Pasi Meriläinen
Table of Contents What is ALD? The early years 1st wave In the middle 2nd wave Lab to fab Industrial applications Main players Beneq Future KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 2
What is ALD? Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin film deposition technique based on gas phase chemical process. In ALD process each precursor react with the surface of a material one at a time, in a sequential and self-limiting manner. Through the repeated exposure to separate precursors, a thin film is deposited, atomic layer by atomic layer. Precise thickness control (Å scale) Pinhole free Completely conformal Uniform Repeatable Scalable KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 3
The early years ALD invention ALD principle was first demonstrated with a rotating disc system in high vacuum Original high vacuum systems Atmospheric system with moving substrate was built Atmospheric moving substrate system And finally a travelling wave, medium pressure carrier gas, ALD equipment concept was verified with tube reactor for production equipment Patents: US4,058,430; US4,389,973; US4,413,022 Travelling wave (1mbar) system KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 4
1st Wave of Industrial ALD Birth of Industrial ALD In the middle 1970 s a Finnish medical electronics company Instrumentarium Datex Oy formed a research group, lead by Dr. Tuomo Suntola, to develop new thin film based products, chemical sensors and displays Thin Film Electroluminescent (TFEL) technology was selected for displays. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology solved the yield and reliability problems, high quality insulators and pinhole free barrier films were the key enablers 1982 in Helsinki Airport new electroluminescent based display board was lit TFEL display production started in 1985 and today Beneq continues production in Finland, with tens of batch ALD reactors KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 5
In the middle Beginning of 1990 s R&D group at Microchemistry in Finland started thinking out of the box... They had new application ideas for ALD CdTe solar cells a-si solar cells Oil refining catalysts Powder coatings by ALD, Microchemistry Ltd., 1991 And they started selling equipment for industry and research F-120 by Microchemistry (later ASM) was the first commercial ALD equipment for R&D from the 1990 s onward F-120, Courtesy of ASM International N.V. KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 6
2 nd Wave of Industrial ALD "The implementation of high-k and metal materials marks the biggest change in transistor technology since the introduction of polysilicon gate MOS transistors in the late 1960s" Intel Co-Founder, Gordon Moore Intel's transistor technology breakthrough SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 27, 2007 In one of the biggest advancements in fundamental transistor design, Intel Corporation today revealed that it is using two dramatically new materials to build the insulating walls and switching gates of its 45 nanometer (nm) transistors. Introducing ALD as enabling technology for gate oxides KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 7
2 nd Wave of Industrial ALD We needed something even smoother as smooth as a single layer of atoms, actually. So we turned to a technology called atomic layer deposition, so new that its debut in CMOS chip production comes only this year with our new high-k chips. Mark Bohr, Intel KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 8
2 nd Wave of Industrial ALD Semiconductors dedicated ALD equipment Eagle XP PEALD system (CCP) Courtesy of ASM International N.V. Jusung SDCVD(Space divided CVD-ALD) system Jusung Engineering, www.jseng.com Aldinna Batch ALD system Kokusai, www.ksec.com Pulsar ALD system Courtesy of ASM International N.V. Advance 400 Series Batch ALD Courtesy of ASM International N.V. www.asm.com KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 9
Lab to Fab Finally ALD was acknowledged to be one of the key thin film coating technologies Suddenly ALD was being used by ordinary people in ordinary labs New industrial applications started to emerge... KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 10
Anti-tarnish for jewelry nsilver ALD thin film technology for precious metals Invisible and durable anti-tarnish coating for silver Proven performance (salt, climate, UV, liquids etc.) Enhanced reflectivity (brightness) Photo courtesy of Kalevala Jewelry KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 11
Increasing c-si solar cell efficiency Over 1 percentage point increased cell efficiency ALD and Al 2 O 3 for surface passivation of c-si PV Adapted to both n- and p-type cells Production with Beneq Thin Film System TFS NX300) n Cell type p Throughput (wafers/hour) CoO ( /wafer) 2000 3900 0.04 0.02 Beneq Thin Film System TFS NX300 with manipulator arm KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 12
Increasing CIGS solar cell efficiency 1 percentage point increased cell efficiency Replacing wet-process cadmium sulfide (CdS) ALD technology for thin film PV buffer layer KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 13
Stronger glass for mobile devices Stronger glass increased glass cracking resistance For TFT LCD, mother glass, sodalime, borosilicate etc. Independent and available ALD coating for displays, screens etc. KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 14
Optical coatings nopto Freedom to design and create optical materials For complex and accurate coatings mixing of atoms, doping tailored refractive index dichroic filters Thin film structures enabled by ALD KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 15
Decorative coatings ndeco ALD coated lens viewed in transmission Decorative coatings on complex structures Metal-like, dielectric non-metal coatings on polymers Dark and absorptive color films Mirror coating complex 3D objects Excellent adhesion, appearance, color depth and density KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 16
Biocompatible coatings nbiocomp Coating implants with biocompatible materials KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 17
micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) Improved lifetime and protection of MEMS devices Protection Wear resistance ALD on NEMS/MEMS Device Courtesy of ALD NanoSolutions Low Friction ALD surface on MEMS/NEMS Device Courtesy of ALD NanoSolutions Alumina coating on MEMS/NEMS device Courtesy of ALD NanoSolutions KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 18
Thin Film barriers and encapsulation Superior barrier properties For OLED, OPV, printed and flexible electronics Uniform, pinhole-free coatings on any shapes KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 19
Thin Film barriers and encapsulation Titanium nitride (TiN) diffusion barriers and platinum (Pt) cathode current collector materials have been developed by ALD for the non-active layers in 3D integrated batteries Extending lifetime of Li battery cathodes Enhancing power output of batteries and supercapacitors KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 20
Main players value chain ALD equipment providers Chemical suppliers Subtrate producers OEM producers Consumer products KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 21
Beneq Established: 2005 Location: Thin Film Equipment, Lumineq Displays & Thin Film Coating Services Espoo, Finland Personnel: 130 Sales offices: Sales network: Finland, Germany, China, USA (Beneq, Inc.) and Russia (OOO Beneq) More than 50 sales representatives worldwide The Internationalization Award of the President of the Republic of Finland KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 22
Beneq Group Thin Film Equipment Thin Film Coating Services Lumineq Displays KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 23
Full set of ALD solutions for research and industrial applications Solar energy Glass coatings Lighting (OLED) Flexible electronics Fundamental research Product development Industrial scale manufacturing TFS 200 TFS 500 WCS 500 KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 24
Future ALD becomes integral part of industrial production Tailored materials Interface layers Optical amplifier fibers Surface functionalization Surface priming Everyday industrial applications Corrosion resistance Glass strengthening Barriers Thin, flexible, superior ALD is shaping the future KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 25
THANK YOU! KMW - Sept. 23, 2014 Beneq 2014 26