Atomic Layer Deposition & Cousins

ABSTRACT: The Atomic Layer Deposition System (ALD) was hailed as a breakthrough in thin-film technology because it gave the ultimate control over film thickness: It could be used to deposit metal oxides, nitrides and sulfides, one atomic layer at a time. I will describe our successful, fully indigenous development of an internationally competitive ALD and discuss how its capabilities are being extended in collaboration with ISRO. Our ALD followed on the heels of our hi-end Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) System which we have extensively used for synthesizing several 2-dimensional materials. Some of these syntheses will provide the background for comparing and contrasting the ALD & CVD techniques.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Sahdev trained, as a particle theorist, in leading groups at Cornell University, Univ. of Pennsylvania, and the International Center for Theoretical Physics (Italy) among others. While at these centers, he worked and interacted with several leading physicists including Prof Salam, Ken Wilson, Steven Weinberg and Richard Feynman. He then joined IIT Kanpur, where over two decades of innovative teaching, he turned out some of the best physicists of the country. Many of his students have, by now, received the Bhatnagar, Infosys and other prizes. Prof. Sahdev has contributed to several branches of physics: He was a co-discoverer of radiation zeroes and of their use in determining the anomalous magnetic moment of the W-boson. He is one of the original pioneers of the field of higher-dimensional cosmologies. He has worked on the non-linear dynamics of Josephson-Junction arrays and has developed several algorithms for simulating them. Furthermore, he has made considerable progress in achieving the integration of theory, computation, experiment and instrumentation at QuazarTech --- a Research Lab, Educational Center and Company, all merged into a single entity --- which he set up. In particular, he and his group have developed several Scanning Probe Microscopes, Physical Properties Measurement, Chemical Vapor Deposition and Data-acquisition Systems, and used them not only for their own research and teaching, but also to facilitate teaching and research across the entire country. Prof Sahdev is part of the Expert Advisory Group of the Instrumentation/ Device Development Program of the Department of Science. and a Former Member of the Technology Development Board of the Government of India.