Atomic Layer Deposition of Highly Conductive Metals

Novel photonic structures, such as periodic metal-dielectric photonic bandgap structures (MDPBG) have the potential to revolutionize the field of optical windows. The large mismatch in the permittivities of the metal and dielectric creates resonant tunneling, which allows for high transmission in regions where metals are typically opaque. This property makes MDPBGs very attractive for screening or filtering specific electromagnetic radiation. Despite the technology’s potential for wide range of applications, there remain significant problems in manufacturing these structures reliably and economically. A specific challenge is the deposition of metals on dielectric surfaces, where the metal layer is less than 10 nm thick but smooth, conformal, continuous and highly-conductive. RMD has addressed this issue by developing a unique atomic layer deposition(ALD) technique that will integrate a well-studied metal precursor chemistry with highly energetic reactant source in order to lower the percolation threshold for metal layers. In Phase II, RMD will demonstrate the ability to grow a multilayer metal/dielectric layers containing metal thickness of 10 nm or less using ALD technologies for all the layers. These layers will be demonstrated with good interfacial adhesion, morphology and designed to satisfy a specific spectral transmission.