Molecular vapor deposition

Molecular vapor deposition [1][2] is the gas-phase reaction between surface reactive chemicals and an appropriately receptive surface. Often bi-functional silanes are used in which one termination of the molecule is reactive. For example, a functional chlorosilane (R-Si-Cl3) can react with surface hydroxyl groups (-OH) resulting a radicalized (R) deposition on the surface. The advantage of a gas phase reaction over a comparable liquid phase process is the control of moisture from the ambient environment, which often results in cross polymerization of the silane leading to particulates on the treated surface. Often a heated sub-atmospheric vacuum chamber[3] is used to allow precise control of the reactants and water content. Additionally the gas phase process allows for easy treatment of complex parts since the coverage of the reactant is generally diffusion limited. Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors often use molecular vapor deposition as a technique to address stiction and other parasitic issues relative to surface-to-surface interactions.

References

  1. Jeff Chinn, Boris Kobrin, Victor Fuentes, Srikanth Dasaradhi, Richard Yi, Romuald Nowak, Robert Ashurst, Roya Maboudian, Molecular vapor deposition (MVD) – a new method for the surface modification of nano-fabricated devices, Hilton Head 2004: A Solid State Sensor, Actuator and Microsystems Workshop, June 6–10, 2004
  2. B. Kobrin, W. R. Ashurst, R. Maboudian, V. Fuentes, R. Nowak, R. Yi and J. Chinn, MVD technique of surface modification, AICHE Annual meeting 2004, November 8, Austin, TX
  3. http://insurftech.com/products_rgm210.html
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/5/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.