Technology Available for Licensing

Case 14204/14605

Method for forming a contact layer having strong adhesion and exceptional uniformity on semiconductor or thermoelectric substrate

Keywords:

Semiconductors, electroplate, nanoparticle, low surface energy substrates

Applications:

Manufacturing of various substrates, manufacturing of various micro/nano-structures

Problem:

Difficult to electroplate on low surface energy substrates

Technology:

This invention relates to a thin nanoparticle layer or self-assembled monolayer being initially deposited onto a semiconductor or thermoelectric substrate for electroplating an electrically conducting material and having strong adhesion and exceptional uniformity. The invention uses a seed layer that strongly adheres to the substrate to serve as nucleation sites. It is also discovered that these seed layers open up a voltage range such that metals can be selectively deposited onto the predetermined seeded regions only, thus opening new routes for selective area deposition.

Advantages:

Improved electrical and thermal conductivity at lower cost and higher throughput

Inventors:

• Professor Gang Chen (MIT Mechanical Engineering Department)
• Hsien-Ping Feng (MIT Mechanical Engineering Department)
• Bo Yu (Boston College Physics Department)
• Zhifeng Ren (Boston College Physics Department)
• Shuo Chen (MIT Mechanical Engineering Department)
• Bed Raj Poudel (GMZ Energy, Inc.)

Intellectual Property:

US Patent Application 12/932372 filed on February 24, 2011

Publications:

N/A

Please contact: Christopher R. Noble MIT Technology Licensing Officer 1 Cambridge Center, Kendall Square, NE18-501 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142-1601

Email: crn@mit.edu Tel: 617-253-6966 Fax: 617–258-6790 Website: http://tlo.mit.edu