Project 2

Simulation of Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD)

(Prof. Kevin Walsh and Dr. Chuang Qu, ECE)

Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) is a bottom-up nanomanufactuing technique.  It uses ballistic shadows created by particle islands either pre-deposited or naturally formed during physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes.  Various 3D nanofeatures can be created from GLAD, such as columns, springs, chevrons, tubes, ribbons, and combinations (see Figure below).  GLAD nanostructures have potential applications to the fields of sensing, optics, electronics, and NEMS (nano electro mechanical systems).  Although the GLAD concept has been proposed for over 60 years, the deposition mechanism is still lacking.  In this project, the REU student will gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of the growth of thin films and nanomanufacturing experiences.  The main targets are: 1) simulation of film deposition with variables of tilt angle, deposition rate, rotation speed, material, and temperature; 2) validation of the simulation results (coverage percentage, seed size, etc) by experiments (e-beam evaporator system and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in the UofL cleanroom); 3) prediction of efficient seeding schemes for GLAD for distinct nanostructures; 4) fabrication of devices with nanostructures using GLAD with predesigned seeding schemes.