Wikipedia ALD history description updated

As part of the Wikipedia update task (#11 in the VPHA Publication Plan, http://vph-ald.com/Publication%20Plan.html), a major update has been made to the History description in the ALD page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_layer_deposition. I have made the update during January 23-24 (username rlpuu), with details checked and additions proposed by Tuomo Suntola. The most important change was that now, it is clearly stated that ALD has developed through two independent discoveries. Also, the notation has been removed that the concept of ALD would have been proposed in the thesis of Aleskovskii in 1952 (the matrix hypothesis was there, but no proposal for ALD yet).

Obviously, the description can be still improved in many ways. I will most likely be making further edits later, and as Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia, everyone can further improve the text. For those intending editing, it is good to read through the Wikipedia principles described in the five pillars of Wikipedia. Wikipedia contents are free to use but still copyrighted, so when re-using material from Wikipedia, one is required to provide credit to the authors by e.g. linking to the Wikipedia page, see Reusing Wikipedia contents and Reuser's rights and obligations.

Current and earlier ALD history description texts can be found below.  

ALD History (Wikipedia, current)

(from Wikipedia ALD, version 08:29, 24 January 2016,
 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atomic_layer_deposition&oldid=701393909):

ALD has been developed in two independent discoveries under names atomic layer epitaxy (ALE, Finland) and molecular layering (ML, Soviet Union). Until today, no single article has aimed to give a neutral view of both development routes. To clarify the early history, an open effort called the Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA) has been set up in summer 2013 by a group of scientists.^[3] Dedicated essays have resulted, which describe the historical development of ALD under the names ALE (2014, "A short history of atomic layer deposition: Tuomo Suntola's atomic layer epitaxy")^[4] and ML (2015, "From V. B. Aleskovskii's “framework” hypothesis to the method of molecular layering/atomic layer deposition").^[5]

In the 1960s, Stanislav Ivanovich Koltsov together with Valentin Borisovich Aleskovskii and colleagues experimentally developed the principles of ALD at Leningrad (Lensovet) Technological Institute (LTI) in the Soviet Union.^[5] The purpose was to experimentally build upon the theoretical considerations of the “framework hypothesis” coined by Valentin Borisovich Aleskovskii in his doctor of science thesis (“professor’s thesis”) published in 1952.^[5] The experiments started with metal chloride reactions and water with porous silica, soon extending to other substrate materials and planar thin films.^[5] Aleskovskii and Koltsov together proposed the name “Molecular Layering” for the new technique in 1965.^[5] The principles of Molecular Layering were summarized in the doctoral thesis (“professor’s thesis”) of Koltsov in 1971.^[5] Research activities of molecular layering covered a broad scope, from fundamental chemistry research to applied research with porous catalysts, sorbents and fillers to microelectronics and beyond.^[5][6]

In 1974, when starting the development of thin film electroluminescent displays (TFEL) at Instrumentarium Oy in Finland, Tuomo Suntola devised ALD as an advanced thin film technology.^[4][7] Suntola named it atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) based on the meaning of “epitaxy” in Greek language (epitaxy = on arrangement).^[4][7] The first experiments were made with elemental Zn and S to grow ZnS.^[4][7] ALE as a means for growth of thin films was internationally patented in more than 20 countries.^[4] A breakthrough occurred, when Suntola and co-workers switched from high vacuum reactors to inert gas reactors which enabled the use of compound reactants like metal chlorides, hydrogen sulphide and water vapor for performing the ALE process.^[4][8] The technology was first time disclosed in 1980 SID conference.^[4] The TFEL display prototype presented consisted of a ZnS layer between two aluminum oxide dielectric layers, all made in an ALE process using ZnCl2 + H2S and AlCl3 + H2O as the reactants. The first large-scale proof-of-concept of ALE-EL displays were the flight information boards installed in the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in 1983.^[4] TFEL flat panel display production started in the mid-1980s by Lohja Oy in the Olarinluoma factory.^[4] Academic research on ALE started in Tampere University of Technology (where Suntola gave lectures on electron physics) in 1970s, and in 1980s at Helsinki University of Technology.^[4] TFEL display manufacturing was for a long time the only industrial application of ALE. In 1987, Suntola started the development of the ALE technology for new applications like photovoltaic devices and heterogeneous catalysts in Microchemistry Ltd., established for that purpose by the Finnish national oil company Neste Oy. In the 1990s, ALE development in Microchemistry was directed to semiconductor applications and ALE reactors suitable for silicon wafer processing. In 1998, Microchemistry Ltd. and the ALD technology were sold to the Dutch ASM, a major supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and Microchemistry Ltd. became ASM Microchemistry Oy as ASM’s Finnish daughter company. Microchemistry Ltd/ASM Microchemistry Ltd was the only manufacturer of commercial ALD-reactors in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, the expertise on ALD reactors in Finland trigged two new manufacturers, Beneq Oy and Picosun Oy, the latter started by Sven Lindfors, Suntola’s close coworker since 1975. The number of reactor manufacturers increased rapidly and semiconductor applications became the industrial breakthrough of the ALD technology, as ALD became an enabling technology for the continuation of Moore's law.^[4] In 2004, Tuomo Suntola received the European SEMI award for the development of the ALD technology for semiconductor applications.^[4]

The developers of ML and ALE met at the 1st international conference on atomic layer epitaxy, "ALE-1" in Espoo, Finland, 1990.^[4][5] Knowledge of molecular layering in the growing English-speaking ALD community remained marginal, until the extent of molecular layering works was revealed in a scientific ALD review article in 2005.^[1]

The name "atomic layer deposition" was proposed as an alternative to ALE in analogy with CVD by Markku Leskelä (professor at the University of Helsinki) at the ALE-1 conference, Espoo, Finland. It took about a decade, before the name gained general acceptance with the onset of the international conference series on Atomic Layer Deposition by American Vacuum Society.^[9]

References:

1. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c d e f} Puurunen, Riikka. Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process, Journal of Applied Physics 97 , 121301 (2005)
2. Jump up ^ Miikkulainen, Ville; Leskelä, Markku; Ritala, Mikko; Puurunen, Riikka L. (2013-01-14). "Crystallinity of inorganic films grown by atomic layer deposition: Overview and general trends". Journal of Applied Physics 113 (2): 021301. doi:10.1063/1.4757907. ISSN 0021-8979. 
3. Jump up ^ Virtual project on the history of ALD (VPHA) website http://www.vph-ald.com
4. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Riikka L. Puurunen, A Short History of Atomic Layer Deposition: Tuomo Suntola’s Atomic Layer Epitaxy, Chemical Vapor Deposition, 2014, Vol 20, Issue 10-11-12, pages 332-344, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cvde.201402012/full
5. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c d e f g h} Anatolii A. Malygin, Victor E. Drozd, Anatolii A. Malkov and Vladimir M. Smirnov, 2015, Vol. 21, Issue 10-11-12, pages 216–240 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cvde.201502013/abstract
6. Jump up ^ V. B. Aleskovskii, Zh. Prikl. Khim. 47, 2145 (1974); [J. Appl. Chem. USSR. 47, 2207, (1974)].
7. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c} T. Suntola, J. Antson, U.S. Patent 4,058,430, 1977
8. Jump up ^ T. Suntola, A. Pakkala, S. Lindfors, U.S. Patent 4,389,97, 1983
9. Jump up ^ G. N. Parsons, J. W. Elam, S. M. George, S. Haukka, H. Jeon, W. M. M. Kessels, M. Leskelä, P. Poodt, M. Ritala, S. M. Rossnagel J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 2013; 31, 050818 doi:10.1116/1.4816548

ALD history (Wikipedia), old

(From Wikipedia ALD, version 09:25, 23 January 2016‎, permanent link https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atomic_layer_deposition&oldid=701236079).

"The principle of ALD was first published under the name “Molecular Layering” (ML) in the early 1960s by Prof. S.I. Kol’tsov from the Leningrad (Lensovet) Technological Institute (LTI). These ALD experiments were conducted under the scientific supervision of a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Prof. V.B. Aleskovskii. The concept of the ALD process was first proposed by Prof. V.B. Aleskovskii in his Ph.D. thesis published in 1952.^[1][2][3] It was the work of Dr Tuomo Suntola and coworkers in Finland in mid-1970s that made the scientific idea a true thin film deposition technology and took that into an industrial use and worldwide awareness.^[4][5] After starting with elemental precursors (hence the name ‘atomic’) they were forced to convert to molecular precursors to expand the materials selection. Suntola and coworkers also developed reactors that enabled the implementation of the ALD technology (at that time called atomic layer epitaxy (ALE)^[6][7] into an industrial level in the manufacturing of thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) flat-panel displays. These displays served as the original motivation for developing the ALD technology as they require high quality dielectric and luminescent films on large-area substrates, something that was not available at the time. TFEL display manufacturing was started in the mid-1980s and was, for a long time, the only industrial application of ALD.
Interest in ALD increased in the mid-1990s and 2000s, with the interest focused on silicon-based microelectronics. ALD is considered one deposition method with great potential for producing very thin, conformal films with control of the thickness and composition of the films possible at the atomic level. A major driving force for the recent interest is the prospective seen for ALD in scaling down microelectronic devices. In 2004, the European SEMI award was given to Dr Tuomo Suntola for inventing the ALD technology and introducing it worldwide. A recent review on the History of ALD has been published in 2013 - “History of atomic layer deposition and its relationship with the American Vacuum Society (AVS)”.^[8] The article focuses on how ALD developed within the AVS and continues to evolve through interactions made possible by the AVS, in particular, the annual International AVS ALD Conference. In addition, a virtual project on the early history of ALD has been started in 2013 by a group of scientists.^[9]"

1. Puurunen, Riikka. Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process, Journal of Applied Physics 97 , 121301 (2005)
2. Jump up ^ V. B. Aleskovskii, Zh. Prikl. Khim. 47, 2145 (1974); [J. Appl. Chem. USSR. 47, 2207, (1974)].
3. Jump up ^ A.A. Malygin, J. Ind. Eng. Chem. Vol.12, No. 1, (2006) 1-11.
4. Jump up ^ Riikka L. Puurunen, A Short History of Atomic Layer Deposition: Tuomo Suntola’s Atomic Layer Epitaxy, Chemical Vapor Deposition, 2014, Vol 20, Issue 10-11-12, pages 332-344, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cvde.201402012/full
5. Jump up ^ Anatolii A. Malygin, Victor E. Drozd, Anatolii A. Malkov and Vladimir M. Smirnov, 2015, Vol. 21, Issue 10-11-12, pages 216–240 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cvde.201502013/abstract
6. Jump up ^ T. Suntola, J. Antson, U.S. Patent 4,058,430, 1977
7. Jump up ^ T. Suntola, A. Pakkala, S. Lindfors, U.S. Patent 4,389,97, 1983
8. Jump up ^ G. N. Parsons, J. W. Elam, S. M. George, S. Haukka, H. Jeon, W. M. M. Kessels, M. Leskelä, P. Poodt, M. Ritala, S. M. Rossnagel J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 2013; 31, 050818 doi:10.1116/1.4816548
9. Jump up ^ Virtual project on the history of ALD (VPHA) website http://www.vph-ald.com

************* Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA) - in atmosphere of Openness, Respect, and Trust