1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. Tempism
  4. Synthesis
  5. Thin films, heterostructures and metamaterials
  6. CVD thin Film deposition

Microwave enhanced CVD

Microwave enhanced CVD - AsTex S1500 (customized)

Daniele M. Trucchi  -

DiaTHEMA Lab:DepositionLab

Rome - Monterotondo
 
Customized starting from the Astex S1500 deposition system, it is a setup for the growth of polycrystalline diamond and diamondlike-carbon (DLC) layers by means of a CVD microwave plasma-assisted (MWCVD) technique. Equipped with a graphite disk that allows the heating of the samples up to 950 ° C. The technique is also used to induce hydrogen surface termination.
Methane (CH4), which is often used as precursor for diamond growth in CVD techniques, undergoes a dissociation while exposed to a high-energy microwave plasma. Furthermore, in the process of diamond deposition the presence of hydrogen is fundamental as it prevents the formation of carbon phases with diamonds, providing a condition of thermodynamic super-equilibrium. The system also allows the growth of nitrogen doped n-type diamond using a CH4/N2/H2plasma.
The MW-CVD technique is commonly used when the growing film requires the highest purity and lowest concentration of defects. The uniformity of the film thickness is limited compared to the HF-CVD technique.
 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Base pressure < 10-8mbar;

  • Microwave generator (2.45 GHz) up to 2 kW (MKS Instruments TM025 51);

  • 3 gas lines (H, CH4, N2);

  • maximum temperature 950 °C;

  • partial pressures up to 100 mbar;

    • by changing the partial pressure and the precursors/hydrogen ratio it's possible to obtain growth rates up to 1.5 um/hr;

  • 3 flowmeters for H2 (300 sccm), Ar (50 sccm) e CH4 (10 sccm).

AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES

  • Substrate temperature measurement through double color IR pyrometer.
 

SAMPLES

  • Maximum active deposition area: 4 inches diameter with uniformity up to 2 inches in diameter;

  • Ability to insert multiple monocrystalline and polycrystalline samples.

 

USED ​​FOR

  • deposition of poly and nano-crystalline diamond;
  • deposition by homo-epitaxial growth on mono-crystalline diamond;
  • deposition of DLC;
  • surface termination in hydrogen of semiconductors.
 
 

ESEMPI APPLICATIVI

Solar Thermionic-Thermoelectric Generator (ST2G): concept, material and prototype demonstration

Nitrogen-doped nanodiamond films were deposited on HfC to operate as efficient thermionic emitters in the prototype of the ST2G thermoelectric-thermoelectric solar generator.
 
See: D. M. Trucchi, A. Bellucci, M. Girolami, P. Calvani, E. Cappelli, S.   Orlando, R. Polini, L. Silvestroni, D. Sciti, A. Kribus, Advanced Energy Materials 8, 32 (2018) 1802310
doi: 10.1002/aenm.201802310

 
 
 
  English (UK)

Main Menu (en-GB)