The commercialization of ALD depends on increasing the speed of ALD and performing ALD in a roll-to-roll format [1]. Spatial ALD can achieve much shorter ALD cycle times and is extendible to roll-to-roll processing. Our efforts have focused on a modular rotating cylinder design for spatial ALD [2]. We have demonstrated Al2O3 ALD using Al(CH3)3 and O3 as the reactants at low temperatures on flexible metallized PET polymer [2].
We have also worked to access the feasibility of spatial ALD on flexible porous substrates. ZnO ALD using Zn(CH2CH3)2 as the reactants has been examined on flexible porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes [3]. These model experiments have determined the limits for substrate aspect ratio and substrate speed during spatial ALD on porous substrates. Based on these results, we have demonstrated spatial ALD on flexible porous electrodes for Li ion batteries [3].
1. Paul Poodt, David C. Cameron, Eric Dickey, Steven M. George, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Gregory N. Parsons, Fred Roozeboom, Ganesh Sundaram and Ad Vermeer, “Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition: A RouteTowards Further Industrialization of ALD” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 010802 (2012).
2. K. Sharma, R.A. Hall and S.M. George, “Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition on Flexible Substrates Using a Modular Rotating Cylinder Reactor”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A. 33, 01A132 (2015).
3. Kashish Sharma, Dmitri Routkevitch, Natalia Varaksa and Steven M. George, “Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition on Flexible Porous Substrates: ZnO on Anodic Aluminum Oxide Films and Al2O3 on Li Ion Battery Electrodes”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 34, 01A146 (2016).