Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Many current technologies are based on the innovative use of materials that display novel electronic, magnetic, electrical, thermal, or optical properties. Material properties can be vastly manipulated by their geometry (low dimensional, thin-films) and structure (multilayers). Entirely new effects can exist at material interfaces (interface phenomena) as a result of their symmetry-breaking, giving rise to new properties not present in the bulk. Therefore, the deposition of high-quality films is vital for both understanding the fundamental properties of new materials/interfaces, and for optimizing their behaviour for device applications. Sputter deposition is arguably one of the most important fabrication techniques for deposition of metal and dielectric films and it has been the primary technique for deposition of metal films studied in our labs. Unfortunately, our sputter system, which has supported our research for the last eleven years, is currently not capable of depositing films due to electrical and mechanical failures. In this proposal, we request upgrades of the sputter system which will create a state-of-the-art tool for deposition of metal materials from up to eight sources in the first chamber and for deposition of oxides and nitrides from up to three sources in the second chamber. The upgrades will simultaneously serve as repairs for the failing components in the system. Additionally, they will expand our research in the direction of metal/oxide/nitride structures making us the only group in Canada (to the best of our knowledge) researching and manufacturing magnetic solid-state memory devices.