MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for the Davidson Foundation Cleanroom at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR)

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will enable the acquisition of a high-rate Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system for research, education, and semiconductor workforce development in the Northern Nevada region. ALD is a critical technology used to deposit thin film oxides and nitrides required for leading-edge devices in fields as diverse as semiconductors, quantum technology, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and biology. The ALD will be located in the new Davidson Foundation Cleanroom, which is a facility shared by researchers and students throughout Northern Nevada. It will be the first ALD at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and a plasma-enhanced ALD system at any Nevada university. This would significantly advance UNR's multidisciplinary research programs, which span electrical and biomedical engineering, energy, and functional materials to nanostructured materials and semiconductor devices. This system will dramatically enhance UNR’s research and educational capabilities and foster critical industrial collaborations, further boosting Nevada and the Nation’s economic competitiveness and student employment opportunities. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) enables conformal deposition of complex, tunable metal oxide and nitride thin films with approximately 1-100 nm thicknesses. ALD is currently used in the semiconductor industry and is finding more and more applications for the deposition of conformal thin oxide and nitride films with engineered properties. A site-specific, cutting-edge ALD is needed to pursue research in several key areas: (1) nano- and micro-structured materials and devices; (2) materials interfaces; and (3) nano-mechanical devices for the atomic-scale control required for the next generation of sensors, catalysts, quantum devices, and more. The high-rate plasma-enhanced ALD system acquired through this program offers deposition rates 5~10x higher than conventional ALD systems, enabling the system to serve a larger number of researchers and students for conventional thicknesses, and research into the applications of thicker ALD films (10~100 nm) in areas such as quantum technology. The system is also capable of isotropic atomic layer etch (ALE), a complementary atomic-scale processing technique. The system is configured for maximum flexibility to meet the needs of Nevada’s rapidly growing research community. It will enable novel research in areas ranging from semiconductor, photonic, and quantum devices to biomedical engineering, energy, and functional materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.