Periodic Reporting for period 1 - POLARIS (Polarization tracking in situ)
Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-02-28
Control over processes and emergent characteristics is paramount to the production of components and devices that meet specifications. Trial and error via measurement of the properties of a finished component is always less efficient than real-time monitoring and direct adaptation of the design. This principle is fundamental to the exploitation of promising ferroelectric materials exhibiting a spontaneous polarisation and considered as basis for novel types of smart devices or energy-efficient functional components. Within the EU-funded POLARIS project, an approach to directly measure ferroelectricity in situ during the deposition of oxide thin films has been developed. Here we designed a marketable prototype based on the integration of a compact laser system and optical components. The probe working principle relies on the detection of optical second harmonic generation, a non linear optical process allowed in all ferroelectric materials. The small footprint of the POLARIS setup allows its implementaion on a wide range of functional thin films processes equipment. The successful tests revealed the POLARIS ability to probe the emergence of polarization in ultrathin films during their deposition, widespread application could drastically speed the development of innovative integrated circuits for numerous electronics applications.