Chemical Vapor Deposition

Atomic Layer Deposition is a special type of thermal CVD. The process gases are injected pulsed into the reactor chamber and pumped out again after saturation of the surface. Only then the next process gas is let in to initiate the next step of the layer growth. Due to the flushing and pumping cycles between the individual process steps, a gas phase reaction is completely excluded and growth is limited to the surface. Although the process is time consuming, it can produce extremely high quality, dense layers with excellent step coverage and thickness uniformity.

Picosun R-200 Advanced

Our system is designed for the deposition of Al₂O₃, SiO₂, TiO₂, and ZnO. The use of further precursors for other materials is conceivable, but requires a conversion of the gas supply.

In chemical vapour deposition, one or more process gases are passed over a hot surface either in a protective atmosphere or under low vacuum. The gases dissociate on the surface ot in immediate vicinity, and the decomposition products can accumulate on the surface.

Aixtron Black Magic

In our special CNT/Graphene system, either very dense and up to several tens of µm high CNT forests can be produced in CVD mode or graphene (carbon monolayers) can be deposited on a suitable substrate. In both cases the choice (and combination) of catalyst materials plays a decisive role in the targeted growth of single- or multi-wall CNTs and single- or multi-layer graphene.

CVD also includes our processes for the deposition of adhesion promoters for optical lithography (HMDS) or coating with fluorine-based anti-adhesion coatings, e.g. for nano-imprint lithography. These processes do not take place in industrial plants, but in specially designed systems the use of samples typically =< 2 inch in size.

Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition enables much lower process temperatures than in purely thermal processes. The gas is let in via a gas shower to ensure an even distribution. The energy input of the plasma causes a dissociation of the process gases already in the gas phase. The resulting reactive radicals hit the typically 250-450°C hot substrate by diffusion and form the desired thin film. Due to the low temperatures, PECVD can also be used with already metallized samples (e. g. covering of conductor paths) or temperature-sensitive materials (e. g. polymers).

Oxford Plasmalab 80 Plus

Silicon oxide and nitride layers deposited by means of PECVD offer good step coverage at good deposition rates, but typically exhibit lower stoichiometry and etch resistance and higher strain than corresponding LPCVD layers.

Aixtron Black Magic

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are produced in a dedicated(PE)CVD system. In plasma-assisted processes, CNTs can also be produced on temperature-sensitive flexible substrates. At higher temperatures, up to max. 850°C, the electrical field of the plasma can be used to produce individual vertically aligned free-standing CNTs.