Instruments Today, No. 185 (vol. 33, issue 3)

December 2011 published

Advanced Thin Film Technology

4

Thickness Monitoring for Precise Optical Interference Coatings
Cheng-Chung Lee

High quality thin fi lm optical fi lters need high precision fi lm thickness monitoring during the deposition. There are several methods can do the thickness monitoring, named as time-counting monitoring, quartz-oscillation monitoring, traditional optical monitoring, optical admittance loci monitoring and phase-extraction monitoring. Each method has its advantage and disadvantage. Since no information about refractive index of the depositing thin fi lm can be provided by time-counting monitoring or quartz-oscillation monitoring, optical monitoring is preferred if an optical fi lter needs fi lm thickness controlled very precisely during the deposition, although time-counting monitoring and quartz-oscillation monitoring are cheaper and simpler. Optical admittance loci monitoring has an advantage of visual control so that it has a better error correction mechanism. Besides it can be applied on a traditional optical coating machine by the implantation of software without any additional hardware. Phase-extraction monitoring is the most precise monitoring method, it needs the installation of an interferometer and a camera with polarization array, however, it is vibration insensitive, compact and cheaper than using ellipsometer and having much better performance than an ellipsometric system.

12

Applications of Atomic Layer Deposition on Fabrication of Nano-Catalysts
Chi-Chung Kei, Chih-Chieh Wang, Yang-Chih Hsueh, Tsong-Pyng Perng

Developments of high conversion-effi ciency fuel cell and renewable energy are important to solve the problems arisen from the fast consumption of natural resources and global warming due to industrialization. In this study, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is proposed to fabricate nano-catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), photocatalysis and water splitting for hydrogen generation. ALD offers good coating conformity over complicated substrates with atomic scale thickness control. Platinum nanoparticles prepared by ALD were used as the catalyst for PEMFC. Compared with commercial electrode, only one thirtieth amount of platinum loading could achieve similar performance of PEMFC. The reduction of platinum loading can enable and accelerate the commercialization of PEMFC. Besides, TiO₂ nanotubes prepared by using ALD technique and anodized aluminum oxide template have excellent performance of photocatalysis. Preliminary study also shows that the TiO₂ nanotubes can be a good catalyst of water splitting to generate hydrogen with the aid of solar energy.

23

Technology Development, Processing and Characterization Methodology in Nano Scale Hard Coatings
Jenq-Gong Duh, Yu-Chen Chan

Materials engineering is regarded as a key technology to integrate novel functionality into products and processes. Especially, surface science and functional interfaces via the so-called surface modifi cation exhibit specifi c material characteristics. In this paper, popular nanocomposite and nanomultilayer hard coatings and their deposition methods will be focused. To aim at the target that sufficient hardness and toughness should simultaneously be present in coatings, appropriate testing methodology will also be introduced. It is believed that by precisely controlling the intrinsic properties, coating with specially desired functionality can be pursued in the near future.

33

Development of Vacuum Technology for Thin Film Process
Chien-Nan Hsiao, Chi-Chung Kei, Yu-Wei Lin, Po-Kai Chiu, Chih-Chieh Yu

In this article, we would like to outline the developments of diversifi ed vacuum and thin fi lm technologies with great differentiation in ITRC, NARL. Looking forward to being the platform of vacuum technology in Taiwan, ITRC has the obligation to appropriately integrate the process capability and instrument resources, and collaborate with academia and industry.

46

Fabrication of Large Convex Hyperbolic Mirror for Remote Sensing Instrument
Ching-Hsiang Kuo, Zong-Ru Yu, Cheng-Fang Ho, Wei-Yao Hsu, Chi-Hung Hwang

In this study, we develop more efficient polishing processes and build inspection procedure for large convex hyperbolic mirror of Cassegrain optical system. We also investigate the effects of polishing parameters and metrology system errors during fabrication processes. The polishing process combines the techniques of conventional lapping and CNC polishing. The inspection procedure was carried out by using phase shift interferometer with CGH. In this study, we present an integration process of aspherical surface inspection and correction polishing. Based on this integration process, a φ 160 mm convex mirror with hyperbolic surface was completed. The form error of the mirror was converged to 0.15 µm P-V, 17.9 nm RMS.

61

Progress of Small & Medium Size AMOLED
Meng-Ting Lee, Chang-Yen Wu, Chung-Chun Lee

AMOLED has been widely adopted in mobile electronic devices, for example, smart phone and digital still camera, etc. Compared to conventional LCD, AMOLED has the benefits of faster response time, higher contrast ratio, and lower color washout. However, the power consumption of AMOLED is still higher than that of LCD due to insuffi cient OLED emitting effi ciency. By replacing the OLED material from fl uorescent type to phosphorescent type, the panel power consumption can be further reduced. By integrating value-added function in AMOLED, such as integrated in-cell touch sensor and in-cell ambient light sensor, AMOLED will be the best candidate for green display in the future.

70

A Metallic Nano-Cluster at a Tip Apex Applied to Field-Sensitive Measurements
Chao-Chia Yang, Mao-Nan Chang, Chun-Ting Lin, James Su, Po-Li Chen, Ming-Hua Shiao

This article reports on the fabrication of fi eld-sensitive probes and the related applications. Using an atomic force microscope combined with electrochemical reaction mechanism, a metallic nano-cluster can be formed at the tip apex. The recipe of the electrolyte solution determined the material of the metallic nano-clusters. Using this probe engineering technique, one can fabricate a metallic nano-cluster with a diameter of about 15 nm. The metallic nanocluster could suppress the stray field effect and improve the spatial resolution of field-sensitive scanning probe microscopy (FS-SPM). Furthermore, experimental results revealed that laser annealing following the process of the metallic nano-cluster tip can enhance the signals and improve the image quality of FS-SPM.

78

Design of an Infusion Pump System with FDA Submissions
Ting-Hsuan Chen, Chien-Lang Wang

An external infusion pump is a medical device used to deliver fl uids into a patient's body in a controlled manner. There are many different types of infusion pumps, which are used for a variety of purposes and in a variety of environments. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is an infusion pump on-demand, usually with a preprogrammed ceiling to avoid intoxication. Infusion pumps have been a source of multiple patient safety concerns in the past. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a comprehensive initiative to improve their safety. The initiative also proposed more strict regulation of infusion pumps.

2007/12/10 updated