Track synthesis, materials and catalysis as it is published.
Search papers, labs, and topics across Lattice.
This paper introduces a direct-write chemical vapor deposition (CVD) platform utilizing a 10 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ tip diameter micro-nozzle in ultra-high vacuum to achieve sub-100 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ feature control. The system successfully fabricated 500 nm thick aluminum lines with 30 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ linewidths, enabling maskless, localized film growth under systematically varied conditions. A transport framework coupling Knudsen emission and surface diffusion was developed to quantify precursor surface diffusion length ($L_d$), revealing its dependence on temperature, duration, and nozzle height, and establishing it as a key parameter for predicting resolution limits.
Maskless, localized aluminum line deposition with 30 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ linewidths is now achievable, driven by a novel direct-write CVD platform that quantifies precursor surface diffusion to predict feature resolution.
Direct-write pattering, using chemical vapor deposition through a nozzle, enables localized film growth using high-purity precursors standard to the electronics industry. Yet, achieving sub 100 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ feature control has been limited by nozzle design and unquantified precursor surface diffusion. Here, we report a direct-write chemical vapor deposition platform that employs a 10 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ tip diameter glass micro-nozzle mounted on a scanning stage above a heated substrate in ultra-high vacuum. Using this approach, we demonstrate the continuous single-pass writing of 500 $\mathrm{nm}$ thick metallic aluminum lines with a 30 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ linewidth on titanium nitride-coated silicon. This capability enables maskless, localized growth under systematically varied deposition conditions on a single substrate. To analyze the resulting deposit profiles, we introduce a transport framework coupling Knudsen gas emission from the micro-nozzle with surface diffusion to extract the effective precursor diffusion length, $L_d$. $L_d$ captures the combined impact of precursor surface mobility, residence time, substrate temperature ($165^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ to $205^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$), growth duration, and nozzle height, contracting from 17.4 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ down to 3.2 $\mu\mathrm{m}$ at elevated temperatures. These results establish $L_d$ as a quantitative parameter for evaluating laterally confined chemical vapor growth and predicting feature resolution limits. This approach provides a practical methodology to measure and quantify precursor surface transport in localized film synthesis.