The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for producing a large scale, uniform metal nanoparticle coating on a substrate.
Films composed of gas-phase nanoparticles have a wide range of applications in technology ranging from antimicrobial coatings to high magnetization films for magnetic data storage technology. A range of gas-phase nanoparticle sources have been built in research laboratories and are also commercially available.
Conventional gas-phase nanoparticle sources, such as for example the apparatus illustrated in
There is therefore a need for an apparatus and a method for producing large scale metal nanoparticle coatings on a substrate. There is also a need for an apparatus and a method for producing large scale, substantially uniform, metal nanoparticle coatings on a substrate.
The present invention seeks to address the problems of the prior art.
According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for forming a uniform, large scale nanoparticle coating on a substrate, in which the apparatus comprises:
The apparatus preferably further comprises a plurality of lenses. Each lens may be associated with a respective first aperture of the first plate. For example, each lens may be aligned with a first aperture of the first plate. The lenses may be selected to focus nanoparticles having predetermined dimensions into the respective first aperture.
The lenses may be selected from any suitable lenses for focusing nanoparticles having the required predetermined dimensions into the respective first aperture. For example, one or more of the lenses may be aerodynamic lenses. By focusing the nanoparticles, the lenses enable the respective first apertures of the first plate to produce a first stream of nanoparticles having a narrow size distribution of nanoparticles centred on a predetermined nanoparticle dimension, for example diameter.
The apparatus may further comprise a plurality of skimmers. Each skimmer may be aligned with a respective second aperture of the second plate.
The first plate is preferably located within a first chamber. The second plate is preferably located within a second chamber. The first and second chambers are preferably separate chambers.
The apparatus may further comprise a plurality of shell evaporators for providing a coating of a shell material on the nanoparticles. Each shell evaporator preferably comprises an elongate heated tube providing an open channel extending therethrough, in which the channel extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube. The open channel of each tube is preferably aligned with a second aperture of the apparatus. Shell material is preferably located within the channel of each heated tube.
In accordance with a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of preparing a uniform, large scale nanoparticle coating on a substrate, in which the method comprises:
The method may further comprise differential pumping between the first and second plates to produce a stream of free nanoparticles prior to passing the first stream though the second apertures.
The method may further comprise focusing the source of vaporised metal nanoparticles prior to passing the source through the array of first apertures provided by the first plate.
The method may further comprise selecting a plurality of lenses for alignment with each of the respective first apertures. Each lens preferably has the appropriate internal dimensions for focusing nanoparticles having predetermined dimensions to pass through the first apertures.
The method may further comprises coating the nanoparticles with a shell material. The method may further comprise passing one or more of the multiple second streams of free nanoparticles through a respective shell evaporator prior to impinging the multiple second nanoparticle streams on a substrate.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
As shown in
The vaporised metal nanoparticles are then passed through a first aperture 6 to produce a first stream 8 of nanoparticles. This first stream 8 is then incident on a second aperture 10. The second aperture is often in the shape of a skimmer. Differential pumping may occur between the first 6 and second 10 apertures in order to remove the gas so that a stream of free nanoparticles emerges from the second aperture 10.
As can be seen from
The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for forming a uniform, large scale nanoparticle coating on a substrate. As shown in
The source of vaporised metal nanoparticles may be prepared by any conventional method. For example, the vaporized metal nanoparticles source may produce metal vapour with a flow of helium.
The term “nanoparticle” is used herein to refer to particles with dimensions in the range of between 1 nm and 100 nm.
The dimensions and shape of each of the first 20 and second 24 plates may vary depending on the requirements for the apparatus. The separation between the first 20 and second 24 plates may vary depending on the requirements for the emerging second stream of free nanoparticles. The separation between the second plate and the substrate to be coated may also vary depending on the requirements for the coating.
The apparatus shown in
The apparatus further comprises a plurality of lenses 28. Each lens 28 may be aligned with a first aperture 22 of the first plate 20. Each lens 28 is arranged to focus nanoparticles having a predetermined dimensions into a respective first aperture 22 of the first plate 20. The lens 28 may be any suitable lenses for focusing the nanoparticles having the desired predetermined dimensions to the first apertures 22. In the apparatus illustrated in
The lenses are selected in order to provide a lens having the required internal dimensions for focusing the nanoparticles having the predetermined dimensions required to provide the coating. The size distribution of the resultant nanoparticles emerging from the apparatus may be varied by selecting different lenses having different internal dimensions.
The apparatus further comprises a plurality of skimmers 29. Each skimmer 29 is arranged to be aligned with, for example located adjacent to and to extend around, a second aperture 26. It is to be understood that the apparatus may not include skimmers.
Although it is not shown in
In use, the desired aerodynamic lenses 28 having the required internal dimensions for focusing nanoparticles having predetermined dimensions are selected and positioned adjacent to each of the first apertures 22. A source of vaporized metal nanoparticles is produced (more details?). The vaporized metal nanoparticles having the required predetermined dimensions are focused by the aerodynamic lens 28 and pass through the first apertures 22 to produce multiple first streams of vaporized metal nanoparticles. Each of the first streams is channeled through a respective skimmer 29 positioned adjacent the respective second aperture 26 of the second plate 24 of the apparatus. A stream of free nanoparticles 30 having a narrow size distribution about a predetermined nanoparticle size emerge from the apparatus to impinge on a substrate (not shown). Examples of suitable substrates include, but are not limited to, wafers and write heads for hard disk storage systems
As shown in
In use, each stream of free nanoparticles 30′ passes through a shell evaporator 50. A local high vapour pressure of the shell material is produced around each nanoparticle stream 30′ so that the method allows very efficient use of shell materials. The differential pressure in the nanoparticle stream prevents the shell material moving upstream from the tube into the nanoparticle source. A stream of free shell material coated nanoparticles 56 emerge from each shell evaporator 50 prior to impinging with a substrate for coating.
The present invention may be used specifically to provide nanoparticle coatings on write heads for hard disk storage systems. In particular, the present invention may provide an apparatus and method for providing a substantially uniform layer of FeCo alloy on a wafer of a write head such that each write head has a high magnetization tip to maximize the magnetic field available for writing data onto the disk. It is known that Co nanoparticles embedded in Fe matrices produce films with a higher magnetization than FeCo alloys. The present invention therefore provides an apparatus and a method for providing a uniform, large scale coating of Co on a substrate, for example a wafer, comprising a Fe matrix.
Although aspects of the invention have been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment shown and that various changes and modifications may be effected without further inventive skill and effort.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1417045 | Sep 2014 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/GB2015/052774 | 9/24/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2016/046561 | 3/31/2016 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170241010 A1 | Aug 2017 | US |