In today’s world, semiconductor microdevices form the backbone of nearly every piece of modern technology. Manufacturing these tiny devices is a complex, multi-step process involving both additive (vapor deposition, sputtering) and subtractive (dry or wet etching) techniques. The key to success in this process is photolithography — a method that uses UV light to define patterns through specialized masks. But photolithography requires cleanrooms — highly controlled, particle-free environments. These facilities, marvels of engineering, are necessary to ensure contaminants don’t compromise device designs, but they come with significant costs and energy demands.
Cleanrooms must operate with extreme precision, filtering the air to the highest standards and maintaining constant supplies of distilled water, pressurized gases like argon and nitrogen, and facilities to handle chemical waste. This intricate setup, while effective, is not only expensive but also energy-intensive, making it a significant bottleneck in manufacturing efficiency.
The Promise (and Limitations) of Additive Manufacturing
In recent years, additive manufacturing — more commonly known as 3D printing — has been heralded as a potential game-changer for many industries. From printing microscopic plastic parts to entire boats and even human tissue, additive manufacturing offers flexibility that traditional fabrication methods lack. However, for micro- and nanofabrication, 3D printing technologies like laser-based, electron beam-based, or inkjet methods face significant limitations.
These methods typically achieve micrometer-scale resolution, which falls short of the nanometer-scale precision achieved by photolithography. Additionally, additive manufacturing has struggled to work with the wide range of materials — oxides, nitrides, metals, and complex compounds — used in semiconductor devices.
Enter ATLANT 3D and Direct Atomic Layer Processing (DALP®)
This is where ATLANT 3D comes in. By leveraging a novel approach called Direct Atomic Layer Processing (DALP®), ATLANT 3D is transforming the additive manufacturing landscape for micro- and nanofabrication.
DALP® combines the well-established technique of atomic layer deposition (ALD) with advanced mechatronics, using a microscale ALD reactor and a precision-moving stage (capable of X, Y, and Z-axis motion). This setup enables the selective deposition of materials, achieving nanoscale patterning and solving many of the challenges that have hampered traditional methods.
DALP® offers direct, precise, and selective material deposition—one atomic layer at a time. The lateral feature size is determined by the microreactor, while the vertical feature size is controlled by the ALD process itself. This allows for highly controlled and repeatable patterning of materials like metals, oxides, and nitrides.
Addressing Industry Challenges
DALP® is uniquely positioned to address some of the most pressing challenges in advanced manufacturing:
Precision and Efficiency: DALP® achieves direct patterning with incredible thickness accuracy, while minimizing energy use and process steps.
Material Flexibility: Unlike traditional inkjet or screen printing, DALP® supports a wide range of materials, including oxides, nitrides, metals, and potentially all other materials that can be developed using the ALD method.
Complex Geometries: Photolithography struggles with non-flat or corrugated surfaces. DALP® easily deposits materials on challenging geometries like 90 degrees wall of microchannels up to 60 µm deep, making it ideal for integrating functionalities such as sensors or functional coatings into microfluidic systems, for example.
Cost and Sustainability: By reducing the need for multiple steps and minimizing material waste, DALP® offers a more cost-efficient and sustainable solution compared to traditional cleanroom-based methods.
Rapid Prototyping: DALP® accelerates innovation cycles by allowing multiple depositions with different deposition parameters on a single sample. This speed enables quick iterations, making it easier to innovate and develop new devices.
How DALP® Outperforms Traditional Methods
DALP® outshines conventional additive manufacturing and photolithography processes in several key areas:
Seed Layer for Metal Plating: Seed layer deposition using DALP® is very effective because it can quickly deposit the first very thin layers of a high-quality metal, which can then be used for metal plating – this speed is further emphasized by the direct patterning aspect, which removes the need for an additional lithography step.
Catalysis and Electrocatalysis: [MC1] [SS2] [MC3] DALP® allows extreme control over surface morphology and porosity, increasing the active surface for increased catalysis activity. Moreover, DALP® can coat high aspect ratio substrates such as nano rods with active nanoparticles for higher catalytic yield.
Direct Sensor Writing: DALP® can directly pattern a variety of materials used in sensing applications with atomic-layer thickness precision, simplifying the process and reducing the number of steps usually required in photolithography.
Optical Filter Processing: DALP® deposits optical coatings on complex or non-flat surfaces, overcoming the uniformity challenges faced by other additive manufacturing technologies. Moreover, DALP® differentiates itself from traditional optics microfabrication most notably by its ability to easily deposit gradient structures, something that is costly with traditional additive & subtractive microfabrication processes.
Seamless Integration and Complementary Capabilities
DALP® can integrate seamlessly into standard cleanroom environments and works with established microfabrication processes. Rather than replacing traditional methods, DALP® enhances them by overcoming their limitations and offering greater flexibility.
Figure 2: Deposited Pt across microchannels
For instance, while photolithography is limited to flat surfaces, DALP® can pattern materials on non-flat, corrugated, or complex geometries. This opens up new possibilities in fields like MEMS, sensors, optics, and catalysis.
DALP® in Action
ATLANT 3D has demonstrated the power of DALP® through successful applications. As an example, we can show here the patterned deposition of platinum on a thermal silicon oxide wafer. More specifically, the control of the thickness is visible on the thickness mapping of the ATLANT logo, as expected for an ALD process the thickness is dependent on the number of passes.
This process enables rapid material innovation and prototyping, reducing the number of iterations and materials needed for device development.
The ability to deposit materials with such precision and selectivity, even on complex surfaces, makes DALP® a game-changer for industries looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible in micro- and nanofabrication.
Conclusion
ATLANT 3D's Direct Atomic Layer Processing (DALP®) technology is transforming the future of advanced manufacturing. By addressing industry challenges, integrating with existing processes, and offering unprecedented flexibility and precision, ATLANT 3D is redefining how we build the next generation of microdevices.
For more information, visit atlant3d.com.
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