Inherently Selective Atomic Layer Deposition for Optical and Sensor Applications: Microreactor Direct Atomic Layer Processing (μDALP™)
Authors: Plakhotnyuk Maksym , Varga Atilla C , Parfeniukas Karolis , Kundrata Ivan , Bachmann Julien 
Published: February 2024

In parallel to additive manufacturing leading the revolution in traditional manufacturing, the same principles can revolutionize traditional thin film deposition techniques. Where lithography and vapor phase deposition techniques struggle, for example, with rapid iterations for prototyping or incompatibility with the used chemistry, additive manufacturing can shine. Indeed, several approaches are in development for 3D nanopriting1,2,3.

Atomic Layer Deposition, and in more general Atomic Layer Processing, offers a unique opportunity for localized 3D processing/printing due to its two-step process. While simple in theory, due to well-developed examples of Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (SALD), in practice miniturization of SALD requires substantial effort into the creation of suitable micro-nozzles. Uniquely, ATLANT 3D has developed proprietary Spatial ALD micronozzles, naming the process microreactor Direct Atomic Layer Processing - µDALPTM.

The µDALPTM process undergoes the same cyclic ALD process but, thanks to the in-house microreactor development, is only done in a localized area. The microreactor or micronozzle confines the flows of gases used for ALD within a µm-scale area on the substrate, wherein the reactive species adsorb on the surface to deposit one monolayer of the desired material. Similarly, to spatial ALD, the creation of this monolayer then hinges on the movement of the substrate.4

Since the µDALPTM process is based on physical separation, it is theoretically compatible with any ALD process. As such, the material capabilities can match traditional ALD and exceed other special or patterning thin film techniques, such as lithography, which can be costly and time-consuming, especially for rapid prototyping required for innovation.

Films deposited with ATLANT 3D technology have been shown to produce high-quality, crystalline, atomically precise thin films.1 It has been used to fabricate temperature (Fig.1) and capacitive sensors with sensitivities that meet or exceed those of devices made using conventional vapor phase deposition techniques.5 Low-cost rapid prototyping facilitated by ATLANT 3D technology of such devices enables design innovation and optimization not possible with other thin film deposition techniques.

ATLANT 3D platform provides flexibility in deposition geometry (Fig.2) that enables a range of optical applications that require high-precision fabrication techniques. Optically transparent films can be used as localized thin protective layers for device encapsulation, as well as for atomic corrections of defects. Alternating deposition materials enable multilayer mirror fabrication of custom dimensions. Smooth thickness gradients can be used to manufacture ultrathin optical lenses. Overlapping depositions with discrete steps enable the manufacturing of binary lenses and phase masks. Growth rate enhancement in rastered direct processing mode using ATLANT 3D technology can produce periodic grating structures.1 Conformal coatings on complex surfaces can act as functionalization layers or seed layers for further material deposition through e.g. electrochemical processes.

[1] Kundrata I. et al., ALD/ALE 2022 [Int. Conf.],
2022

[2] de la Huerta C. A. M. et al., arXiv, 2020, 0523.

[3] Winkler, R. et al., J. Appl. Phys., 2019, 125, 210901

[4] Paul Poodt., JVSTA., 2012, 30, 010802

[5] Kundrata, I. et al., Small Methods., 2022, 6 (5), 2101546

Figure 1