Techniques for producing combinatorial materials are highly valued for their ability to produce compositional arrays that can be rapidly evaluated. A significant aspect that is still lacking in combinatorial film deposition is the ability to efficiently deposit multiple material conditions in specified isolated areas on a large silicon wafer while varying local composition and deposition conditions. Providing combinatorial magnetron sputtering control capability for both material composition and thermal processing of multiple individual test pads on a single substrate is a primary goal of this proposal. Phase I incorporates tasks for the mechanical design of a precise substrate rotation system and variable power and/or shutter control for magnetron sputtering on Si substrates. The work includes the design for localized in-situ diode laser heating to provide enhanced grain growth during the multilayer or co-deposition process. Particular attention will be paid to incremental composition changes for each pad. In Phase II, a prototype machine will be built and tested for precision control of selected pad site incremental compositions. A high probability for successful commercialization is anticipated, as PVD Products is singularly focused and committed to provide the best possible deposition instruments to the military and commercial markets.
Keywords: Combinatorial Magnetron Sputtering, Thin Film Deposition, Magnetron, Sputtering, Semiconductor Thin Films, Diode Laser Heating, In-Situ Substrate Heating, Test Pads
