AGS-Engineering is dedicated to supporting your company by assisting in the design, development, and documentation of Thin and Thick Films and Coatings. Even though the definition of thin and thick film coatings is vague, generally speaking, coatings that are <1 micron in thickness are categorized as thin film and coatings that are >1 micron thick are considered thick film. Thin and thick films are the fundamental chip level building blocks of most high-tech components and devices today, including microchips, semiconductor microelectronic devices, microelectromechanical devices (MEMS), optical coatings, magnetic storage devices and magnetic coatings, functional coatings, protective coatings and others. Very roughly explained, such devices are obtained by depositing one or multiple layers of coatings onto substrates and patterning the coatings using photolithographic systems and processes such as eching. By depositing thin films on certain regions and selectively etching some regions, the circuits of microelectronic devices are obtained. Thin film technology enables us to manufacture billions of transistors onto tiny substrates with nanometric precision and accuracy and amazing level of repeatability within a short time.

 

THIN FILM & COATINGS CONSULTING, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Thin films have properties that deviate from their bulk materials, and therefore it is an area that requires direct experience in the field. By understanding the properties and behavior of thin films and coatings, you can create wonders in your products and business. Adding thin layers that are generally less than 1 micron you can substantially change not only the appearance but also the behavior and functionality of surfaces. Thin film coatings can be single layer as well as multilayers depending on the application. Our consulting, design and development services in thin films and coatings are:

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• Consulting, design, development of single and multilayer optical coatings, antireflection (AR) coatings, high reflectors (HR), bandpass filters (BP), notch filters (narrow bandpass), WDM filters, gain flattening filters, beamsplitters, cold mirrors (CM), hot mirrors (HM), color filters and mirrors, color correctors, edge filters (EF), polarizers, laser coatings, UV & EUV and x-ray coatings, rugates. We use advanced software such as Optilayer and Zemax OpticStudio for design and simulation.

• Consulting, design and development of very precise nanometer range, pinhole–free and totally conformal thin films on any shape and geometry using CVD, ALD, MVD, PVD, Fluoropolymers, UV-Cure, Nano-coatings, Medical Coatings, Sealants, Plating and others.

• Through the building of complex thin film structures, we create multimaterial structures such as 3D structures, stacks of multilayers,…. etc.

• Process development and optimization for thin film and coating deposition, etching, processing

• Design & development of thin film coating platforms and hardware, including automated systems. We are experienced in both batch production systems as well as high volume systems.

• Testing and characterization of thin film coatings using a wide range of advanced analytical test equipment that measure chemical, mechanical, physical, electronic, optical properties and specifications.

• Root cause analysis of failed thin film structures and coatings. Stripping & removal of failed thin film structures and coatings to analyze underlying surfaces to determine root cause.

• Reverse engineering

• Expert witness and litigation support

 

 

THICK FILM & COATINGS CONSULTING, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Thick film coatings are thicker and > 1 micron thick. They can be in fact much thicker and in the range 25-75µm thick or more. Our consulting, design and development services in thick films and coatings are:

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• Thick film type conformal coatings are protective chemical coatings or polymer films typically about 50 micron thick that ‘conform’ to the circuit board topology. Its purpose is to protect electronic circuits from harsh environments that may contain moisture, dust and/or chemical contaminants. By being electrically insulating, it maintains long-term surface insulation resistance (SIR) levels and thus ensures the operational integrity of the assembly. Conformal coatings also provide a barrier to air-borne contaminants from the environment, such as salt-spray, thus preventing corrosion. We offer consulting, design and development of Conformal Coatings using CVD, ALD, MVD, PVD, Fluoropolymers, UV-Cure, Nano-coatings, Medical Coatings, Sealants, Powder Coatings, Plating and others.

• Design & development of thick film coating platforms and hardware, including automated systems. We are experienced in both batch production systems as well as high volume systems.

• Testing and characterization of thick film coatings using a wide range of high precision test equipment

• Root cause analysis of failed thin film structures and coatings

• Reverse engineering

• Expert witness and litigation support

• Consulting services

 

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THIN AND THICK FILM COATINGS TESTING AND CHARACTERIZATION

We have access to a large number of advanced test and characterization equipment used on thin and thick films:

• Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), Time of Flight SIMS (TOF-SIMS)

• Transmission Electron Microscopy – Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM-STEM)

• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

• X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy – Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical analysis (XPS-ESCA)

• Spectrophotometry

• Spectrometry

• Ellipsometry

• Spectroscopic Reflectometry

• Glossmeter

• Interferometry

• Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC)

• High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

• Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

• Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

• Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS)

• Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

• Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)

• Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)

• Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS)

• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)

• Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS)

• Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)

• Raman

• X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

• X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)

• Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

• Dual Beam - Focused Ion Beam (Dual Beam – FIB)

• Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD)

• Optical Profilometry

• Stylus Profilometry

• Microscratch Testing

• Residual Gas Analysis (RGA) & Internal Water Vapor Content

• Instrumental Gas Analysis (IGA)

• Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS)

• Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF)

• Specular X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR)

• Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

• Destructive Physical Analysis (DPA) compliant with MIL-STD requirements

• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

• Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)

• Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA)

• Real Time X-Ray (RTX)

• Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM)

• Tests to evaluate electronic properties

• Sheet Resistance Measurement & Anisotropy & Mapping & Homogeneity

• Conductivity Measurement

• Physical & Mechanical Tests such as Thin Film Stress Measurement

• Other Thermal Tests As Needed

• Environmental Chambers, Aging Tests

 

To find out about our thin and thick film coating deposition and processing capabilities, please visit our manufacturing site http://www.agstech.net