Multi-Scale Simulation Toolbox of PECVD plasma

Thin film materials are key components in a large variety of fields including automotive
and mechanical engineering, optics, micro- and nanotechnology, medical applications,
photovoltaics and display technology.
Stoichiometric SiO2 is one of the most used coating deposited by Physical Vapor
Deposition (PVD) for various applications. Although magnetron sputtering PVD process
is widely used to deposit nanometric layers of various compounds, in the case of SiO2,
it is only suitable for thin layers for industrial applications. An alternative to the
magnetron sputtering process for production of thick (and thin) SiO2 coating is the
Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) process, like for example a
process based on hollow cathode source (HC). Deposition can take place at high rate for many days of continuous operation from a mixture of O2/TMDSO. Unfortunately, coating composition will vary strongly with the process parameters, and their impact on film quality and uniformity is not well understood today.
The aim of the MIST project is to build a digital twin of a PECVD process, from the plasma to the coating properties. The
innovative approach of this project is to replace a major part of the trial-and-error with advanced numerical models of the underlying physics and chemistry.
The simulation framework developed within this proposal will be a general toolbox having numerous possible applications of PECVD like for applications in solar, window film, glass, textile, and packaging industries, where reproducible large-scale thick SiO2 deposition is needed. But, for this proposal, it will be dedicated to a process based on a hollow cathode principle and validated by experimental data obtained by AGC and its subsidiaries (world leader in glass production), industrial partner on either lab scale or industrial size coater?