Thin Film Deposition of Highly Conductive Metals for Sensor Applications

Summit Information Solutions, Inc. (Summit) proposes to use a mature thin film deposition technology, widely adopted by the microelectronics industry, to deposit pinhole-free thin films of copper and silver metal (< 10nm) onto oxide substrates. While there has been some success with using this thin film deposition technique to deposit these films onto metal substrates, a viable, repeatable methodology for oxide substrates has not been widely demonstrated. For this feasibility study, Summit, in partnership with The University of Alabama in Huntsville, will explore several deposition chemistries to demonstrate the feasibility of copper and silver on planar oxides. In the course of the study, the metallic thin films will be characterized for optical transmittance, sheet conductivity, and film thickness. In addition to these measurements, other techniques will be employed to ensure that the chemical composition of the copper and silver thin films achieve the solicitation's goals.