A new ALD reactor is under construction in our lab. The previous tubular reactor system (seen at right in the photo) produced excellent alumina and ZnO films, but was a bit problematic in terms of its utility for studying reactor dynamics due primarily to the large volume of the reactor process tube.

This new reactor, with its much-reduced volume, should provide for better precursor purging and access to the wafer itself. Key elements in its design include the optical ports and two supports seen in this figure – they are to be used for in-situ ellipsometry that has the potential to quantify ALD deposition dynamics in real-time.

This reactor was designed by Dr. Vivek Dwivedi, an alumnus of our research group, currently at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center here in Maryland.