The Henry Royce Institute at the University of Cambridge supports UK SMEs in de-risking and accelerating advanced materials research. One such collaboration is with Paragraf, a University of Cambridge spinout and semiconductor SME developing novel electronic devices using advanced thin-film technology.
Paragraf’s devices exploit the exceptional sensitivity of graphene and other two-dimensional materials at the atomic scale. Through access to Royce facilities, the company has been able to explore new materials and processes critical to the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies.
Metal fluoride research was carried out using the Royce Cambridge Ambient Processing Cluster Facility. Metal fluorides are large band gap materials that are increasingly attractive as thin insulating layers for semiconductor devices. Unlike oxide insulators, fluorides can be grown epitaxially on silicon substrates, enabling the integration of crystalline semiconductor layers.
The project focused on the deposition of single-crystalline thin films of magnesium fluoride (MgF₂), a wide band gap dielectric material more commonly used in optical applications such as anti-reflection coatings and V-UV transparent layers. Despite its favourable hardness and thermal expansion properties, MgF₂ presents challenges for semiconductor electronics due to its tetragonal lattice structure and lattice mismatch with silicon, which typically results in polycrystalline films.
Using thermal and electron-beam evaporation, as well as sputtering, the project explored routes to improving MgF₂ film quality through elevated substrate temperatures and the use of buffer layers to enhance adhesion, lattice matching, and surface roughness. These MgF₂ layers have potential applications as device caps, tunnel barriers, low-energy surfaces for 2D electronics, device stacks, sensors, and anti-reflective coatings.
This work directly supports the expansion of Paragraf’s device portfolio, helping to attract investors and increase market presence. As a result of the project’s success, Paragraf is now a long-term user of the Royce facilities at the Maxwell Centre, as well as Royce facilities at Leeds and Imperial.
The work was enabled by the specialist infrastructure of the Royce Cambridge Ambient Processing Cluster Facility, which provides vacuum deposition systems capable of handling fluoride materials and processing samples in controlled, moisture- and oxygen-free environments.
As Dr Seb Dixon, Senior Scientist at Paragraf, notes, the Royce Institute offers invaluable opportunities for SMEs to undertake early exploratory or analytical work, strengthening their technology and boosting their offering to customers. Through collaborations like this, the Henry Royce Institute continues to play a central role in bridging the gap between university research and industrial innovation, helping spinouts like Paragraf grow their market presence and deliver advanced technologies to real-world applications.
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