Surface, interface and thin film studies for nano & heat transfer applications

This thesis is focused on the study of surfaces, interfaces and thin films. The main goal of this project is to produce and examine thin films and interfaces that can lead to the development of heat transfer and nano applications. High-performance dropwise condensers are an effective means of heat transfer but widespread use in industry relies on identifying a durable, cost effective dropwise condensation promoter with adequate thermal conductivity. The focus of the work here investigates using rare earth oxides as a possible candidate to address these requirements. A next generation intrachip cooling technology is necessary to overcome the stringent heat dissipation needs of high-heat flux GaN based electronics. A two phase (liquid-tovapor) intrachip cooling technology requires fabrication of a nanoporous membrane with sub 25 nm features for pumping a working fluid within the device. Patterning at these length scales is difficult due to the cost of ownership of state of the art photolithography. The work here aims to develop a high fidelity, low cost block copolymer lithography technique using PS-b-P4VP for large-scale feature definition suitable for patterning. The long anneal times and polymer dewetting issues associated with standard solvent vapour annealing have been addressed in this work by developing a custom-built block copolymer annealing chamber. Finally surface and interface studies were performed on porous low-κ dielectric thin films for use in back end of line microelectronic device fabrication. The continued shrinking of on chip devices has resulted in increased line resistance and parasitic capacitance within the multilevel interconnects leading to delays in signal propagation. Low-κ dielectrics combined with self-forming copper diffusion barrier layers are a promising candidate to alleviate resistance and capacitance within the interconnect structure. The thesis is presented in an article based format, with each chapter comprising a research topic that includes a review of the literature in the introduction of each chapter.