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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/P027032/1
Title: Precision Manufacturing of Flexible CMOS
Principal Investigator: Driscoll, Professor JL
Other Investigators:
Flewitt, Professor AJ
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Applied Materials Pragmatic Semiconductor Limited Purdue University
Department: Materials Science & Metallurgy
Organisation: University of Cambridge
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 29 August 2017 Ends: 28 February 2021 Value (£): 373,054
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Materials Characterisation Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
03 Mar 2017 EPSRC Manufacturing Prioritisation Panel March 2017 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
High quality, low temperature-grown thin film metal oxides are urgently needed for a wide range of emerging electronic applications relating to the Internet of Things. Numerous energy harvesting, generation and storage devices also rely on obtaining such films. The market is huge (>$100Bn) for such devices. However, manufacturing techniques cannot deliver the required high quality oxides simultaneously with the necessary low-temperature processing.

The main focus of this proposal is to develop a manufacturing tool to rapidly synthesise, at low temperatures, high quality p-type oxides for flexible CMOS devices. Such devices are currently unavailable. The work will also have broad ramifications for the manufacturing of a wide range of oxide thin film applications beyond CMOS. The work is novel both in terms of the manufacturing tool (atmospheric vapour pressure spatial atomic layer deposition, AP-SALD) and the processing methodology (inducing surface quasi-liquids to strongly improve film crystallinity and carrier mobility). The tool and the process are together essential for enabling a step-change in the production of commercial flexible devices incorporating oxides.

We will work closely with PragmatIC, a fast growing start-up in the area, who have committed both cash and in-kind support to the project as well as with Applied Materials, a large equipment manufacturer, the world leaders in industrial ALD, who are in an excellent position and also have interest in commercialising the AP-SALD manufacturing tool.

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Organisation Website: http://www.cam.ac.uk