Invention Reference Number
The Rapid Prototyping Molecular Beam Epitaxy (RPMBE) is a novel method designed to simplify and reduce the cost of traditional Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) reactors used in academic research as well as the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. By replacing hot filaments with infrared (IR) lasers to heat the crucibles, RPMBE reduces the complexity, size, and expense of MBE reactors, allowing for rapid material discovery and prototyping without risking costly equipment.
Description
Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) is a widely used technique for synthesizing thin films in academia, semiconductor, and microelectronics industries. Traditional MBE reactors use high current filaments to heat crucibles, which require complex and expensive components such as feedthroughs, filament holders, and cooling systems. This makes MBE systems costly to build, operate, and maintain, limiting their use for rapid material discovery. RPMBE addresses this limitation by replacing the hot filaments with IR lasers to heat the crucibles, simplifying the design and significantly reducing costs. This new approach also improves the vacuum cleanliness and allows the system to handle reactive gases for material discovery, such as ozone, chalcogens, and halogens. The small, portable nature of RPMBE enables parallel development and prototyping of new materials, making it ideal for research and development purposes.
Benefits
- Cost-Effective: Eliminates the need for expensive hot filaments, making the system cheaper to build and maintain.
- Portability: The small and compact design allows for easy deployment and parallel material development.
- Scalability: While designed for prototyping, the system’s laser-based approach can scale for larger industrial applications.
- Flexibility: The system can work with a variety of gases and is easy to clean and maintain.
- Direct translatability: Findings from RPMBE systems can be directly applied to traditional MBE systems for material optimization and deployment
Applications and Industries
- Materials discovery: Rapid prototyping of new materials
- Research and development: For the creation of new quantum, semiconducting and microelectronic materials
- Semiconductor, microelectronics, optoelectronics, quantum electronics industries and more.
Contact
To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.
