Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin film deposition technique which was developed in the 1970s to meet the needs for processing thin film electroluminescent displays (TFEL). Technically and chemically it is similar to chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, in contrast to CVD, ALD incorporates as a specific feature the separation of the chemical reaction into two half-reactions. The exposure of the substrate to separate precursor vapors allows for chemical saturation of the substrate surface with a monolayer of the precursors and thus for a precise sub-Å growth control in a cycle by cycle manner. In addition, being a non-line-of-sight deposition technique, ALD allows good coating conformality even with 3D nanostructured substrates or structures with a high aspect ratio together with a good capability for upscaling.

ALD rapidly develops to become the method-of-choice for fabrication or functionalization of nano-structures, optical coatings, catalytically active coatings, encapsulation, corrosion protection or even infiltration of soft materials with metals. Among these research fields, functional coatings for optics are of special interest. With a combination of lithography and nanoscale coating, highly sensitive guided mode resonance sensors can be constructed.

The most recently evolving application of ALD deals with the modification of mechanical properties of soft materials after infiltration of metals by ALD. Although the detailed chemistry behind the approach is not yet understood, biological or organic materials, such as spider silk, collagen, or diverse polymers can change their mechanical properties after being treated with pulsed vapors of metal precursors. The toughness of such materials increased by up to 10-fold, outperforming most manmade materials. With such potential to produce (bio)organic-inorganic hybrid materials, the infiltration by ALD promises use in the textile industry or the production of artificial tissues.

个人简介：

MatoKnez studied electrical engineering and subsequently chemistry at the University of Ulm. He performed his doctoral thesis at the Max Planck Institute of solid state research in Stuttgart, Germany, on the use of plant viruses as biological templates for nanostructuring until end of 2003. After that he spent two years as Postdoc at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, initiating a research line on thin film coatings by atomic layer deposition. In 2006 he received an award from the German Ministry (BMBF) and a grant to build his own research group dedicated to thin film assisted nanostructuring. In 2009, he was invited for a visiting professorship by the University of Brescia, Italy. From January 2012, he will start a new research professor position at the nanotechnology institute nanoGUNE (www.nanogune.eu) in San Sebastian, Spain.

His research interests include atomic layer deposition (ALD), sol-gel chemistry, bio-inorganic and organic-inorganic hybrid materials and composits, diffusion phenomena, and optical, mechanical, and catalytic properties of nanomaterials.

主持人: 聂广军 研究员　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 电话: 010-82545529