How ALD Precursor Manufacturing is Expected to Grow to Meet Demand

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is one of the most established techniques among today’s chemical and physical deposition techniques.

The field of atomic layer deposition has seen significant changes and advancements over the past 30+ years. With more than three decades of development, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been developed into a well-known nano-manufacturing technology that can be used to create ultra-thin films of different materials with good surface geometry conformance and uniformity.

ALD is widely used in various industrial applications and has been widely accepted in the microelectronics and nanotechnology industries for generating small but effective semiconductors.

Atomic layer deposition typically involves the use of a catalyst that is thermochemically preferred and at relatively low temperatures. Having low temperatures when working with soft substrates is one of the reasons why ALD is favored and growing.

Hard work pays off!

Currently, ALD precursor manufacturing is one of the fastest-spreading thin film technologies.

In today’s industries, the electronics industry cannot function without ALD. This is because of the benefits it offers, including near-to-perfect, atomically smooth coatings that precisely conform to surface curves and the ability to regulate coating thickness down to a single atomic layer.

Factors that Contribute to Increase in the Demand for ALD Applications

Here are a few factors contributing to increased demand for ALD applications.

● Coating Method

One of the reasons why industries choose ALD for their applications is its coating method. Due to its surface-limited nature, the coating precisely follows the surface’s contours as it is applied. This means the coating looks like the substrate lying underneath. Its uniqueness makes it the only coating method that comes close to conformity.

● Driven by Chemical Saturation

Another significant benefit of ALD is that, unlike chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it is driven by the chemical saturation of surfaces with the precursor (such as TMA) instead of guided deposition.

● Films

The films produced by ALD precursor manufacturing are uniform in thickness, dense, and have no pinholes. The surfaces are atomically smooth and chemically well-controlled composition.

● Quality and its control

It is easy to monitor the quality and control of an ALD process using various imaging techniques. This ensures that the ALD manufacturing is going smoothly and creating a conformal layer over a surface.

Future Applications of ALD Precursor Manufacturing

The uses and demand for ALD precursor manufacturing continue to grow. For instance, selective area deposition is one promising application that uses naturally selective films. In essence, a new patterning technique is being developed by researchers to find ways to deposit metals and dielectrics in very particular spots.

Atomic layer deposition is also being explored as a way to enhance overlay control or how well a new pattern can align with a current one.

As these and other applications develop, atomic layer processing will play an increasingly important role in future advancements in semiconductor production. Proven to be an enabling technology in the industrial world, ALD precursor manufacturing is constantly evolving due to its usage in complex novel structures and scaling techniques as they are incorporated into next-generation devices.

ALD Precursor Manufacturing at Optima Chemical

Optima Chemical is one of the leading ALD precursors manufacturers in the marketplace today. Optima’s line of industrial scales is perfect for producing precursor materials weighing 100 kg to 100 tons while transferring current technology quickly.