27a Rapid Surface Microanalysis using a Low Temperature Plasma

This subtopic is focused on improving our current understanding and scientific knowledge in the area of plasma-surface interactions and plasma assisted material synthesis related to advanced microelectronics and nanotechnology. Current challenges include: controlling the interaction of LTP with a single layer of atoms to manufacture integrated circuits, continued miniaturization of integrated circuits, LTP processing of material surfaces and thin films to enable industrial scale fabrication of advanced microelectronics, synthesis of new materials, nanomaterials, nanotubes, and complex materials, Technology developed in this subtopic is of value to either (i) enable scans of surfaces (ideally 1 sq. cm area) using various microscopies (electron, optical, other) at high resolution (ideally micron or sub-micron resolution) rapidly (ideally hours or days rather than years to complete a high-resolution scan of such a large surface area), or (ii) enable scans of surfaces (ideally 1 sq. cm area) using various microscopies (electron, optical, other) at relatively low resolution rapidly, then apply algorithms to select subsample spots for micron-scale imaging. GENERAL STATEMENT OF HOW THIS PROBLEM IS BEING ADDRESSED. Sputtering occurs when particles of a solid material are ejected from its surface by energetic particles from a plasma. While the degradation of the solid material and the subsequent deposition of the ejected material onto vulnerable surfaces are the usual subjects of sputtering studies, plasma science has yet to be combined with sputtering to create new diagnostics devices and systems. Small changes in the design of the plasma discharge device make it possible to create broad plasma beams for rapid scanning or small plasma beams to obtain the distribution of ejected elements with micron resolution. In the high-resolution use, the ion flux is extracted from the gas-discharge plasma and focused by a spherical emission surface to micron sizes onto the target specimen, providing very local sputtering and local elemental analysis. The radiation from the excited and ionized sputtered atoms is recorded by a spectrometer through a window and fiberglass cable and analyzed with standard software packages used for optical glow discharge spectroscopy. WHAT WILL BE DONE IN PHASE I. In Phase I, computer simulations of beam formation will be used to optimize the designs to be tested. Experiments of beam formation will be conducted. In Phase II a full-scale Rapid Surface Microanalysis System using a Low Temperature Plasma will be manufactured and tested in cooperation with the Stony Brook University Materials and Chemical Engineering Department. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS AND OTHER BENEFITS This new and relatively inexpensive plasma-based method for microanalysis will find broad application in different fields, including microelectronics manufacturing, advanced nanotechnology, biology, chromatography and many others, including national security.