Installation of the First ALDcompact 10 System
Scienta Omicron has recently delivered its first ALDcompact 10 system to the University of Notre Dame, USA. This new small-footprint module is designed for exploratory work in the field of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) process research. To that end, it comes with up to eight independent gas inlets equipped with remotely controlled pulse valves. The hot wall reactor design prevents precursor molecules from condensing/adsorbing on the chamber walls. The ALDcompact 10 includes a robust sample stage for flag-style sample holders. The core element of the stage is its encapsulated heater, protected against process gas effects and undesired deposition.
The delivered ALDcompact module complements an existing Materials Innovation Platform (MIP), that consists of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) systems and an in-situ X-ray Photoelectron (XPS) instrument. In this setup, heterostructures can be grown which are not accessible by ALD growth alone. Thin buffer or surface template layers grown by MBE either prevent or control the detrimental formation of amorphous, interfacial oxide layers. The subsequent ALD overgrowth results in epitaxial oxide films with high-quality interfaces. Stochiometry of the heterostructure can be verified by in-situ XPS. Information from high-resolution spectra of specific transitions is crucial for the optimisation of the buffer layer. By combining ALD and MBE the technologically important integration of complex oxides with semiconductors becomes feasible.
Find out more of our Molecular Beam Epitaxy Systems and components here and contact us (info@scientaomicron.com) or your nearby sales representative here if you wish to discuss about the detailed specifications of our systems.