The objective of this research is to acquire a state-of-the-art e-beam evaporation thin-film deposition system to enable researchers at the Alabama A&M University to fabricate the micro- and nanoscale devices. The approach is to combine the thin-film deposition capability with the state-of-the-art UV and e-beam lithography tools to enable expanded research efforts in the fabrication of micro- and nanoscale devices.
Intellectual Merit: Multiple research projects at Alabama A&M University require an advanced thin film deposition capability. The acquisition of the advanced deposition instrument will make these projects to be completed successfully. The research projects include carbon nanotube field-effect transistors and logic circuits, thermoelectric devices, phase shifter and nano antennas, metal-insulator-semiconductor structures, nanostructured solar cells, single crsytalline tin oxide nanowires, and magnetic properties of Co/Cu. The research accomplishments will greatly benefit the research community.
Broader Impact: Acquisition of the e-beam system will greatly enhance educational opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. The use of the state-of-the-art instrument provides essential training to the majority underrepresented students who will become tomorrow?s researchers in government, academia, and industries. Undergraduates will be exposed to the exciting and rich possibilities of nanofabrication through the research projects. High school teachers and students will be trained on the instrument. Collaboration between the researchers and local industrials will be enhanced by the instrument. This project will further promote the development of local and national economy, and contribute to meeting the Congress? goals for enhancing national education, research, and economy.
The objective of this project is to acquire a state-of-the-art e-beam evaporation thin film deposition system to enable researchers at the Alabama A&M University (AAMU) to fabricate the micro- and nanoscales devices. The requested system (the Kurt J. Lesker PVD 75 e-beam/thermal evaporation thin-film deposition system) has been purchased with the NSF funding and installed in the cleanroom in the Engineering building at the Alabama A&M University. The major outcomes of the project include the acquisition of the system through the NSF/MRI funding, successful installation of the system in the cleanroom at AAMU, and conducting research and education with the system. Acquisition and Installation of the System: The PVD 75 e-beam/thermal evaporation system was manufactured by the Kurt J. Lesker Company, and was received by AAMU in January 2013. The PVD 75 e-beam/thermal evaporation system has replaced a 40-years-old non-working defunct e-beam evaporation system, and has been installed in the cleanroom in the Engineering building at the Alabama A&M University. The installation of the system was completed in April 2013, and the start up of the system and operation training were done by the engineer from the Kurt J. Lesker Company in May 2013. Since then, the system has been frequently used by the students and researchers at AAMU for research and education, and has become one of the busiest systems in the AAMU cleanroom fabrication facility. The system has run very well and has greatly contributed to the research and education at AAMU, together with other cleanroom fabrication facility. Research and Intellectual Merit: After it was successfully installed and started up in the cleanroom, the PVD 75 thin-film deposition system was used for research and training students immediately, together with other cleanroom facility. The system has been used to grow various thin-film materials in the fabrication of carbon nanotube-based field-effect transistors and nanoelectronic circuits and thermoelectrics. More than twenty students and faculty use the system for their research and education projects each year. The e-beam/evaporation deposition has been used to grow various semiconducting thin-film materials as the source/drain contact materials in the CNTFET fabrication and the CNTFET-based logic circuit fabrication. The grown semiconducting materials include silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), antimony telluride (Sb2Te3), and aluminum (Al) as the source/drain contact materials. The fabricated devices include CNTFET-based nanoelectronic circuits such as inverters and oscillators. The electrical properties of the drain-source current (IDS) on/off ratio and IDS saturation were measured from the fabricated CNTFETs, and it was found the semiconducting contact can significantly improve the electrical properties of CNTFET. The research results have been presented in the 20th International Conference on Ion Implantation Technology in Portland, OR in July 2014. Education and Broader of Impacts: In the summer 2013, eight NSF REU students, four DoD REU students, and three high-school students and one high-school teacher who were supported by NSF/EPSCoR used the system for their research projects in the fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotube and thermoelectric devices; in the summer 2014, eight NSF REU students and three high-school students who were supported by NSF/EPSCoR used the system for their research projects in the fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotube and thermoelectric devices. Figures 4 and 5 show the students’ research activities in the clean room. In addition, four to five senior students use the system to perform their one-year senior project each year. The senior design project topic for the 2013 team is: the fabrication and characterization of CMOS devices and circuits; four senior students fabricated a CMOS-based operational amplifier electronic circuits, they used the e-beam evaporation system to deposit aluminum thin films for the metallization of the circuit and grow silicon dioxide as the insulation layer for insulation between metal one and metal two, and successfully fabricated the operational amplifier circuits. The senior design project topic for the 2014 team is: the fabrication and characterization of n-MOSFET with high-κ gate oxide; four senior students used the e-beam evaporation system to grow zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and hafnium oxide (HfO2) thin films as the gate oxide in the fabrication of n-channel MOSFET and achieved excellent electrical property for the MOSFET. The system has also been used to support the class of Integrated Circuit Fabrication Laboratory (EE451L), which has over 20 students each year.
