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nanotimes Companies

11-01 :: December 2010 / January 2011

Surrey NanoSystems – Third System With Three Processing Chambers

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urrey NanoSystems, U.K., announced the first sales of its innovative new nanomaterial growth

system, the NanoGrowth-Catalyst, to the École Polytechnique of Montreal, and the University of Surrey‘s Advanced Technology Institute.

These leading research organisations have chosen the NanoGrowth-Catalyst as a platform for their work on materials including carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, graphene and nanoparticles for semicon- ductor, optical device and other applications. The growth system‘s multi-chamber design ensures the purest nanomaterial processing conditions by con- tinuously maintaining the substrate under vacuum, from the deposition of catalysts to growth of materi- als.

One NanoGrowth-Catalyst system will be installed in Montreal, where it will support a wide range of re- search groups from the École Polytechnique and The University of Montreal studying topics including mi- croelectronics, optoelectronics, and thin film physics.

This system will be populated with every major pro- cessing facility available including three processing chambers served by an automated handling system, and growth techniques including CVD, PECVD, na- noparticle deposition, sputtering, thermal annealing, and rapid thermal processing. It will also incorporate a unique form of rapid thermal growth for nanoma- terials developed to prevent the agglomeration of

catalyst particles. The configuration of the tool was specified by Professor Patrick Desjardins, Director of the École Polytechnique‘s Department of Engineering Physics.

One research group using the system will be the University of Montreal‘s chemistry department, led by Professor Richard Martel.

The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) is a partner to Surrey NanoSystems and has already been using an earlier version of the NanoGrowth system for around four years to support its research into next- generation semiconductor and photonic device tech- nologies. ATI is the first customer to receive the new NanoGrowth-Catalyst, and the system‘s advanced processing resources are now starting to play a role in its work. Facilities including the rapid infrared hea- ting process and a water-cooled chuck are helping ATI to grow ordered carbon nanotube (CNT) struc- tures while maintaining the substrate below 350° C (662° Fahrenheit). Low temperature processing is critical as CNTs are typically grown at around 700° C (1,292° Fahrenheit) – a level that is incompatible with CMOS semiconductor fabrication.

“The top-down infrared heating technique provided by this tool allows us to localise energy delivery very accurately,” says Professor Ravi Silva, Head of the Nano-Electronics Centre at the Advanced Technology Institute. “The system provides unparalleled control