(421b) Invited - Particle ALD Cost/Performance Advantages

The ability to place uniform nanoscale films on primary non-agglomerated particles, including nanoparticles, is a platform technology with many applications in the areas of electrochemistry, lighting, catalysis, micro-electronics, personal care, biotechnology, defense, construction and other areas - many yet to be discovered. ALD on particles is being successfully demonstrated on numerous particle systems including metals, ceramics, and polymers. Particle ALD allows the cost effective synthesis of unique materials that cannot be synthesized by conventional coating processes such as chemical (CVD) and physical (PVD) vapor deposition, or sol-gel methods. The process provides for a pathway to efficiently use expensive precursors with almost no waste product, hence, the low cost option for many functionalized particle applications. Although invented in the late 1990s, it has taken over a decade for commercial applications to be taken seriously and developed. Much of this has been the stigma attached to the higher cost of coating flat low surface area materials used in the micro-electronics industry. This presentation will review the development of Particle ALD on primary particles, their processing, scalability, and the opportunities presented for advanced applications.