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Development of Ion Beam Techniques for Layer Splitting of Oxide Materials--UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia Road, Dayton, OH  45432-1805; 937-426-6900
Dr. Rabi S. Bhattacharya, Principal Investigator, rbhattacharya@ues.com 
Mr. Francis F. Williams, Jr., Business Official, fwilliams@ues.com 
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-02ER83562
Amount:  $749,879

Micro- and optoelectronics, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) integration often requires placing thin layers of different materials on a substrate or self-supporting thin layer.  This cannot always be achieved by standard thin film deposition processes such as sputtering or pulsed laser deposition because of limitations due to lattice mismatch, interdiffusion, and/or interfacial chemical reaction.  This project will develop ion beam techniques for layer splitting and transfer onto a desired substrate for device applications.  In Phase I, LiNbO₃ and PbZn_1/3Nb_2/3O₃ – PbTiO₃ (PZN-PT) layers were separated by implanting MeV He and H ions and either chemical etching or rapid thermal annealing.  The mechanism of layer separation was studied using optical and transmission electron microscopic techniques.  A monomorph piezo-actuator based on separated PZN-PT film was fabricated and evaluated.  Phase II will: (1) optimize the parameters for efficient and cost-effective layer separation of LiNbO₃, PZN-PT and PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃-PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT), (2) understand the mechanism of layer separation of metal-oxides, (3) develop techniques for bonding the separated layers on silicon and other substrates, and (4) fabricate devices.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee:  The technology should enable the integration of photonic circuits and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) with various devices and materials.  New systems applications would take advantage of the chip-level integration of electronic, photonic, and MEMS with integrated multiple functions.