Homsy, Alexandra, Laux, Edith, Jeandupeux, Laure, Charmet, Jérôme, Bitterli, Roland, Botta, Chiara, Rebetez, Yves, Banakh, Oksana and Keppner, Herbert (2015) Solid on liquid deposition, a review of technological solutions. Microelectronic Engineering, 141 . pp. 267-279. doi:10.1016/j.mee.2015.03.068 ISSN 0167-9317.

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Abstract

Solid-on-liquid deposition (SOLID) techniques are of great interest to the MEMS and NEMS (Micro- and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) community because of potential applications in biomedical engineering, on-chip liquid trapping, tunable micro-lenses, and replacements of gate oxides. However, depositing solids on liquid with subsequent hermetic sealing is difficult because liquids tend to have a lower density than solids. Furthermore, current systems seen in nature lack thermal, mechanical or chemical stability. Therefore, it is not surprising that liquids are not ubiquitous as functional layers in MEMS and NEMS. However, SOLID techniques have the potential to be harnessed and controlled for such systems because the gravitational force is negligible compared to surface tension, and therefore, the solid molecular precursors that typically condense on a liquid surface will not sediment into the fluid. In this review we summarize recent research into SOLID, where nucleation and subsequent cross-linking of solid precursors results in thin film growth on a liquid substrate. We describe a large variety of thin film deposition techniques such as thermal evaporation, sputtering, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition used to coat liquid substrates. Surprisingly, all attempts at deposition to date have been successful and a stable solid layer on a liquid can always be detected. However, all layers grown by non-equilibrium deposition processes showed a strong presence of wrinkles, presumably due to residual stress. In fact, the only example where no stress was observed is the deposition of parylene layers (poly-para-xylylene, PPX). Using all the experimental data analyzed to date we have been able to propose a simple model that predicts that the surface property of liquids at molecular level is influenced by cohesion forces between the liquid molecules. Finally, we conclude that the condensation of precursors from the gas phase is rather the rule and not the exception for SOLID techniques.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Engineering > WMG (Formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Thin films, Solid-liquid interfaces, Nucleation
Journal or Publication Title:	Microelectronic Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
ISSN:	0167-9317
Official Date:	15 June 2015
Dates:	Date Event 15 June 2015 Published 8 April 2015 Available 25 March 2015 Accepted 7 November 2014 Submitted
Volume:	141
Number of Pages:	13
Page Range:	pp. 267-279
DOI:	10.1016/j.mee.2015.03.068
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Funder:	Sixth Framework Programme (European Commission) (FP6), Seventh Framework Programme (European Commission) (FP7), Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI)
Grant number:	033201 (FP6), 246362 (FP7), 8241.1 (CTI)

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