ALD/ALE 2025 Session AM2-WeA: ALD Equipment II

Plastic waste poses a worldwide challenge because of its detrimental effects on the environment, society, and economy. Flexible packaging materials are being used with different types of single-use plastics. To address their harmful impact on the environment, the packaging industry has been trying to move towards compostable polymer materials such as polylactic acid (PLA). However, these compostable polymers don’t provide a sufficient gas-diffusion barrier to protect the product from water vapor and oxygen. For that reason, applying vapor-barrier coatings onto packaging materials is necessary to protect the product. However, most traditional barrier coatings don’t perform well on PLA and/or compromise the composability of the packaging. In this work, we introduce nanolaminate barrier coatings for flexible, sustainable packaging materials that are based on alternating nanoscale layers of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and zinc oxide (ZnO). These nanolaminates were deposited using an atmospheric-pressure spatial atomic layer deposition (AP-SALD) system, which is a scalable technique that is compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing. We show that the water-vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen-transmission rate (OTR) of PLA and PET films are significantly improved after coating them with nanolaminates and that the performance of the nanolaminates is superior to single-layer barrier coatings. We note that the thickness of nanolaminate layers directly correlates with the improvement in barrier performance until an optimal value is reached. Moreover, we demonstrate that the nanolaminates are much more resistant to cracking under stress than single-layer coatings. They maintain their barrier properties (low WVTR and OTR) after bending and Gelbo flex tests, which is crucial for flexible packaging materials. As a result, we demonstrate nanolaminate coatings deposited via AP-SALD that are very promising for improving the barrier properties of biodegradable materials for the flexible packaging industry.

As the demand for miniaturized and complex devices accelerates across industries, innovative and precise atomic layer advanced manufacturing techniques have become critical. ATLANT 3D’s proprietary Direct Atomic Layer Processing (DALP™) technology is redefining thin-film processing by enabling spatially localized, atomically precise material growth with unmatched flexibility. Building upon Atomic Layer Deposition, DALP™ confines gas flows to a micrometer-scale area using advanced microreactors, enabling deposition of diverse materials on complex geometries and substrates with exceptional thickness control and conformality on complex structures.

DALP™ technology tackles key challenges in accelerating innovation within thin-film manufacturing. It enables rapid prototyping by allowing localized, multi-thickness depositions of diverse materials on a single wafer, significantly cutting prototyping timelines from months to hours compared to conventional methods.These capabilities have been demonstrated across diverse applications, including optics and photonics, MEMS, RF electronics, emerging memory technologies, advanced packaging, and energy storage.

This talk will explore ATLANT 3D’s advancements in DALP™ technology, focusing on expanded material compatibility, enhanced resolution, and new opportunities it creates for thin-film processing. We will demonstrate how DALP™ technology drives innovation by enabling the fabrication of complete, functional devices. Through case studies, we will highlight how our advanced processing technique have been used to produce components and electronic devices. These examples illustrate how ATLANT 3D’s platform not only improves material deposition processes but also revolutionizes prototyping and manufacturing, empowering industries to achieve faster and more efficient innovation.