SBIR Phase II: Scalable Linear Ion Beam For Large Area Plasma Processing

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project touches upon everything from shower doors to consumer electronics to window glass. Deposition of high-quality thin films on a large scale with precise energy control can allow, for one example, diamond-like carbon (DLC) on glass. DLC coatings on glass can prevent soapy film build-up on shower doors, can improve the scratch resistance of mobile phone displays, and can reduce the cost of energy-conserving windows. The control of energy during fabrication processes won't just broaden what films can be made; it will allow the use of a greater variety of substrates. In recent years, a number of applications have utilized traditional inorganic coatings like silicon oxide on top of new materials like organic solar cells and organic LEDs. These organic materials show greater sensitivity to degradation during the coating processes. This ion beam source can give industry, as it begins to bring these innovations to market, a tool with the level of energy control that will allow lab results to translate to high yield, low cost manufacturing. The proposed project addresses the challenge of depositing advanced thin films on insulating and/or delicate substrates. Control of the deposition's energy flux has been shown in laboratory demonstrations to be required for many thin films including diamond-like carbon, transparent conductive oxides on silicon and organic solar cells, and ultra-thin silver. A scalable linear ion beam sputter source will establish a high-volume manufacturing tool for thin films limited today to much smaller scale. In Phase 1, the source's functionality was demonstrated. Phase 2 has two major components: hardware development for scale and usability; process development for specific commercial applications. The company will deliver a fully integrated control system and a source, scaled by 2x and designed for manufacture. Process development will consider beam energetics and geometry of beam/target/substrate relative to film and substrate properties. For DLC, this will focus on tribological and optical properties. For silver, they will test for continuity of ultra-thin films. Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) efforts will focus on electrical properties and substrate impacts, particularly carrier lifetime in silicon. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.