A bottom-up plasma process to fabricate “solid-gas” nanocomposite layers: New materials and applications

The application of the magnetron sputtering methodology will be presented for the “bottom-up” fabrication of thin films of different nature (e.g. Co, Si) containing closed nanopores filled with the process gas (He). In these nanobubbles (2-40 nm) we have determined ultra-high pressures and densities of the gas stabilized in a condensed state inside the nanopores.

The new manufacturing tool works with conventional sputtering equipment and moderate power conditions. It allows the growth of homogeneous films, the selection of different matrix-gas combinations, the use of flexible substrates or the manufacture of multilayers or self-supported layers. The presented research aims to develop these materials and their applications taking advantage of two fundamental aspects: i) The large amount of gas trapped in nanobubbles  and its stability; ii) the nanocomposite nature of the material and the effects on the nanoporous matrix.