ALD from an application perspective – An upcoming AVS webinar

On February 9, 2022 (1:00 pm – 5:00 pm (EDT) I will give my second AVS Webinar. Last year I gave a webinar about the topic “Plasma-Assisted Atomic Layer Deposition: From Basics to Applications” and this year the topic is again atomic layer deposition (ALD) but now from an application perspective. The latter means that the focus will not lie on explaining the method itself nor on explaining its underlying surface chemistry. The idea is to highlight what one can do with the method. This will still yield a good introduction to the method of ALD and therefore the webinar should be well-suited for newcomers in the field. Yet it should also be very valuable for people interested in thin film technologies and even for experts in the field of ALD because the webinar should give a good overview of where ALD is already used in manufacturing and which applications are at the verge of being introduced industrially.

Below you find some of the many images that I’m currently putting together for the webinar. This includes a schematic overview of the application areas of ALD and a schematic that shows how ALD is positioned in the field of vapor phase deposition methods.

A more detailed description of the webinar is given, as well as its objectives, and a link to the registration page. I hope to see many of you online on February 9!

Schematic overview of the (emerging) industrial applications of atomic layer deposition (ALD). Roughly speaking three main areas can be distinguished: those related to (opto)electronic integrated circuits (blue); those related to large area electronics and energy technologies (red) and other applications (green) that are often in niche markets. The layout of the figure is inspired by a figure posted on the Strem Chemicals website. A high-resolution version of this figure can be found in the AtomicLimits Image Library.

Webinar description

Over the last two decades Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) has become a key enabling method with a multitude of applications benefiting from the (ultra)thin films that can be prepared with precise thickness control and with unparalleled uniformity and conformality on substrates with a demanding surface topology. In this webinar the method of ALD will be presented with a focus on various applications of ALD: both in the lab and in the fab; from high volume manufacturing to niche markets;  from emerging technologies to proof-of-concepts. Special attention will be given to the key features that ALD provides for these specific applications as well as the associated ALD configurations and types of equipment. Application fields that will be addressed include logic and memory devices; advanced patterning applications; power electronics; sensors and detectors; micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS); optics and photonics; photovoltaics; displays; encapsulation and surface engineering technologies; optical, decorative, biomedical, anti-corrosion, and other protective coatings; catalysis and electrochemistry; quantum technology, etc.

Classification of vapor phase deposition techniques used to prepare thin films. One distinguishes physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. The PVD methods include sputtering and evaporation while the CVD methods include CVD (low-pressure CVD, atmospheric CVD, plasma-enhanced CVD) as well as ALD. ALD can be fully thermally-driven (i.e., thermal ALD) or involve a plasma step (i.e., plasma-enhanced ALD). A high-resolution version of this figure can be found in the AtomicLimits Image Library.

Webinar objectives

  • Present the basic concepts of ALD and its various configurations
  • Provide an overview of ALD materials and types of ALD equipment
  • Present applications of ALD in the semiconductor industry, including in logic, memory and patterning
  • Give an insight into applications of ALD in other (emerging) high volume manufacturing markets including photovoltaics, battery technology, displays, etc.
  • Discuss many other applications of ALD in niche markets and in research labs: from protective to optical coatings and from biomedical applications to catalysis and quantum technology
You can register here

Author

  • Erwin Kessels

    I’m a professor in Applied Physics at the Eindhoven University of Technology. I’m leading the Plasma & Materials Processing group, which is a large research group working in the plasma science, materials science and surface science domain. A large part of the current research focuses on the preparation of nanolayers and nanostructures by atomic layer deposition and related processes. And I’m responsible for this blog!

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