Supersonic Cluster Beam Deposition for the Integration of Functional Nanostructured Films in Devices

Auteurs

Barborini E., Vinati S.

Référence

Advances in Fabrication and Investigation of Nanomaterials for Industrial Applications, pp. 1-27, 2024

Description

During the last two decades, supersonic cluster beam deposition (SCBD) has consolidated its role as vacuum-based physical method for the production of nanostructured films of metal oxides, noble metals, graphitic carbon, and their combinations. Besides continuing in supporting basic and applied research in the area of nanomaterials and advancing the knowledge on solid-state nanoscale phenomena, SCBD also successfully demonstrated its applicability in high-tech industrial contexts, particularly in biomedical field. The reason for such growth mainly relies on the capability of producing ultrasmall nanoparticles and directly deposit them in the form of nanogranular, nanoporous films on any kind of substrate, at room temperature, in a single step. The fundamental characteristic of SCBD is the “soft-assembling”, for which no fragmentation of the nanoparticles occurs during film growth and – as a consequence – their original structure is preserved into the cluster-assembled nanostructured film (the so-called “memory effect”). This deeply affects film properties, making them interesting for the development or improvement of a wide class of devices. In this respect, after reviewing the main properties of cluster-assembled nanostructured films, examples will be provided in (1) gas sensing, where nanostructured oxides are deposited onto micro-hotplates, showing high sensitivity and fast dynamics toward both reducing and oxidizing airborne compounds; (2) cell capture platforms, where active cell adhesion is promoted by nanoscale morphology of oxide films deposited into microfluidic devices aiming at blood cancer detection; (3) implantable electrodes for neurostimulation, where electrical conduction property is conferred to soft polymer stripes by proper integration of gold clusters; and (4) plates for sample processing in mass-spectrometry-based proteomics, where super-hydrophilic nanoporous oxides promote sample capture and concentration. Examples of very recent developments in the area of neuromorphic electrical circuits will be also reported.

Lien

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-42700-8_1