FK7054 Nanoscale Technology

Credits: 7.5 points (ECTS)

Time: VT2-2024/2025,

Lecture time: Regular times - Mondays and Thursdays, 13:15 (with few exceptions, see the schedule)

Course starts: 24 March 2025, Time: 13:15, place: FP22

Registration: Register (well in advance) at www.antagning.se

Only registered students are allowed to participate in the course.

All students (including KTH) must register at Stockholm University. Please contact Gorica Nikolic from Studentexpedition (SU) on the 4^th floor of AlbaNova, E-mail: Gorica.Nikolic@fysik.su.se

Motivation

Microelectronics has had tremendous development during last decades broadening the field of applications in many directions. Miniaturization is a driving force for an astounding progress of microelectronics. For the last four decades the undergoing technical revolution in microelectronics is well described by “Moore’s law”, according to which, every 3 years a new generation of integrated circuits appears, in which the number of components on the chip increases 4 times (or doubles every 18 months). Such a remarkable rate of miniaturization was demanded by industry, because the reduction of dimensions went hand-in-hand with an increase in performance and a decrease in the cost of the device. Modern integrated circuits may contain several milliards transistors with a minimum feature size less than 100 nanometers (0.1 micrometers). This would not have been possible without development of thin film technology, nanoprocessing, and material science. A great many sophisticated instruments and techniques, developed to process and characterize thin films and surfaces, have already become indispensable in virtually every research area and high-tech industry. While the major exploitation of thin films is associated with microelectronics, there are numerous and growing novel applications in communication, optical electronics, energetics, coating, data storage, etc. The existing microtechnology is approaching its physical limit and major technological breakthroughs in terms of processes and materials will be required in a near future, as device sizes decrease below ~45 nm, ie., in a new-born area of nanoelectronics. Further development requires a continuous search for new materials advanced methods of deposition, nanoprocessing and characterization of thin films. This challenging task would require specialists with a full knowledge of a huge experience, accumulated in microfabrication technique and in related material and fundamental research areas.

Aim and Goal

The course aims at giving a basic knowledge of various micro/nano fabrication processes, thin film materials, characterization techniques and emerging applications used in modern micro/nano-electronics, optics and micromachining. The goal is to learn material science aspects and physical principles of nanoscale technology, which will help students to understand the link between Processing-Structure-Properties-Performance of thin film devices and to be capable of choosing proper materials, deposition and characterization techniques for a given task. The course will make an overview over an actual research and development and most recent trends in nanoscale technology and will provide a basis for further studies at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, diploma work and professional preparation.

Content

We start by studying basic microfabrication techniques, such as optical lithography, different types of deposition and etching of materials; and then also study advanced nano-fabrication and nano-characterization techniques, such as electron-beam lithography, focused ion-beam etching and atomic force microscopy. Laboratory exercises in the NanoFab clean room at AlbaNova University Center will demonstrate how the nanoscale machinery operates in reality, and will give you an understanding of how the microelectronic devices are fabricated. Simultaneously, the course will contain a lot of interesting physics, such as vacuum, plasma and electron optics, etc. The course will also make an overview over an actual research and development and most recent trends in nanoscale technology.

In Swedish:

Organization

Lectures, Labs and a literature project. A number of simple home assignments will be given to deepen the knowledge obtained during the lectures.

Participation in labs is compulsory. Home assignments and Literature Project are optional and will provide bonus points, which will be counted at the examination.

Schema

Lecture notes

Labs and home assignments (information provided via Athena)

Literature Project and presentations

Literature

Lecture notes can be downloaded from the link above.

The course will be based on the book: The Materials Science of Thin Films by Milton Ohring; Publisher: Academic Press 2001; ISBN: 0125249756.

Complementary literature:

I.Brodie and J.J.Muray: The physics of micro/nano-fabrication

M.J. Madou: Fundamentals of Microfabrication