Atomic Layer Deposition of Inorganic Thin Films on 3D Polymer Nanonetworks

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a unique tool for conformally depositing inorganic thin films with precisely controlled thickness at nanoscale. Recently, ALD has been used in the manufacture of inorganic thin films using a three-dimensional (3D) nanonetwork structure made of polymer as a template, which is pre-formed by advanced 3D nanofabrication techniques such as electrospinning, block-copolymer (BCP) lithography, direct laser writing (DLW), multibeam interference lithography (MBIL), and phase-mask interference lithography (PMIL). The key technical requirement of this polymer template-assisted ALD is to perform the deposition process at a lower temperature, preserving the nanostructure of the polymer template during the deposition process. This review focuses on the successful cases of conformal deposition of inorganic thin films on 3D polymer nanonetworks using thermal ALD or plasma-enhanced ALD at temperatures below 200 °C. Recent applications and prospects of nanostructured polymer–inorganic composites or hollow inorganic materials are also discussed.

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Al 2 O 3 Thin Films Prepared by a Combined Thermal‐Plasma Atomic Layer Deposition Process at Low Temperature for Encapsulation Applications

physica status solidi (a) ◽

10.1002/pssa.201900237 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 217 (8) ◽

pp. 1900237

Author(s):

Zhen Zhu ◽

Saoussen Merdes ◽

Oili M. E. Ylivaara ◽

Kenichiro Mizohata ◽

Mikko J. Heikkilä ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Atomic Layer Deposition ◽

Thermal Plasma ◽

Atomic Layer ◽

Deposition Process ◽

Atomic Layer Deposition Process ◽

Layer Deposition

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Atomic Layer Deposition of Superconducting CuO Thin Films on Three-Dimensional Substrates

Crystals ◽

10.3390/cryst10080650 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 650

Author(s):

Aile Tamm ◽

Aivar Tarre ◽

Valeriy Verchenko ◽

Helina Seemen ◽

Raivo Stern

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Atomic Layer Deposition ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Atomic Layer ◽

Deposition Process ◽

Critical Temperatures ◽

Organic Precursor ◽

X Ray ◽

Layer Deposition

In previous decades, investigation of superconductors was aimed either at finding materials with higher critical temperatures or at discovering nontypical superconducting behavior. Here, we present the cupric (CuO) thin films, which were synthesized by atomic layer deposition by using a metal-organic precursor, copper (II)-bis-(-dimethylamino-2-propoxide), and ozone as an oxidizer. The deposition process was optimized by employing a quartz crystal monitoring, and the contact between the deposited films and planar and three-dimensional SiO2/Si substrates was examined by scanning electron microscopy with a focused ion beam module. Phase and elemental composition were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. Two-probe electrical resistivity measurements revealed a resistivity drop below the critical temperature of 4 K, which may indicate low-temperature superconductivity of the CuO thin films.

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