Frontiers in Applied Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Research

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been a key player in advancing the science and technology of nanomaterials synthesis and device fabrication. The monolayer (ML) control of growth rate obtained with ALD combined with its ability to self-limit growth reactions at the gas-substrate interface can be exploited in fundamentally new ways to produce novel composite nanomaterials or precisely tailored 3D nanostructures. Fueling the rapid popularity of ALD in nanotechnology research is the relative simplicity of the hardware and exciting new chemistries that allow researchers to deposit a host of new materials including pure metals, metal oxides, sulphides and nitrides and organic thin films with relative ease and superb accuracy. In this review article, we present four impact areas - microelectronics, energy harvesting and energy storage devices and sensors and photonic devices that have benefitted from such an approach. While many excellent review articles are available on the fundamental chemistry of ALD processes, we focus here on the applied science and engineering aspects of cutting edge ALD research