About the unique article codes used in VPHA {AuthorYearOptionalindex}

A note about the unique VPHA publication codes, which are given in curly brackets for each article listed in the ALD-history-evolving-file and also in VPHA-reading-overview-file. 

• The unique codes are in the form {AuthorYearOptionalindex}, for example {Koltsov1969b}.    
• The codes are used for quick identification purposes of different articles. They must remain unique and cannot therefore be issued without central coordination. In practice in VPHA, the codes have been managed so far by Yury & Riikka (rather unnoticeably in the background). Questions --> email info@ vph-ald.com (remove the space). 
• In addition to functioning as unique identification in VPHA, the codes enable the writing of large documents with LaTeX  with automatic generation of reference lists with BibTeX. 
• As background info: in VPHA, we build upon the list of unique codes used for generating the literature lists of the two ALD review articles published in Journal of Applied Physics (Applied Physics reviews) in 2005 and 2013 (and Puurunen’s thesis before those). If/when we will write another review article from VPHA (Item 10 partly completed in the VPHA Publication Plan), the codes (and a bibtex file in which they are stored) will again serve for generating the literature list and references. 
• The VPHA participants are requested to avoid using the curly brackets in their comments in the ALD-history-evolving-file for other purposes than these unique publication codes.

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

Wikipedia List of multiple discoveries updated with ALD

The Wikipedia page List of multiple discoveries has been updated by adding ALD in the list of multiple discoveries in the 20th century. With this addition, the VPHA Publication Plan Item 11 "Updating wikipedia" is completed.

The update consists of the addition of the following text:

• The principles of atomic layer deposition, a thin film growth method in its part enabling the continuation of semiconductor device scaling according to the Moore's law in the 2000s, were developed by Soviet scientists Valentin Aleskovsky and Stanislav Koltsov in the early 1960s and independently discovered in 1974 by Tuomo Suntola.^[72][73][74]

The three references mentioned are the three reviews/essays generated in the Virtual Project on the History of ALD:

VPHA Baltic ALD 2016 presentation: live record in Youtube

Live record of the invited organizational end presentation of Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA) at the 14th International Baltic Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition "Baltic ALD 2016" in St. Petersburg, October 3, 2016, has now been uploaded in Youtube. The presentation is entitled "On the history of ALD and the VPHA project," has six co-authors and was delivered by the voluntary coordinator of VPHA, Dr. Riikka Puurunen from VTT, Finland.

Screen capture from Youtube video https://youtu.be/DIArUktQ8xs by Riikka Puurunen. 

Related links:

VPHA abstract submitted to Ireland ALD 2016: 51 authors

Abstract of the Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA) --- item #9 in the publication plan --- was submitted to Ireland ALD 2016 conference, with 51 authors from 15 countries. (After the submission, one person has already joined, so now we are with 52.) The abstract text is copied in full below.

The work that now remains to do related to the ALD 2016 presentation is to (i) complete the VPHA reading and (ii) create a "conclusive recommended reading list" of the most important early publications and applications. Creating this list will be collaborative work, where all VPHA participants can equally influence the results. More to come on the selection method later---we will first have to decide how to do it.

Interestingly, the conference publishes short biographies of the invited speakers. Here you find links to the current VPHA co-authors who are also invited speakers at the conference: Prof. Anatolii Malygin, Prof. Fred Roozeboom, Dr. Massimo Tallarida.

--- VPHA abstract submitted to Ireland ALD 2016 ---

Wikipedia 15 years - status of WikiALD update

Wikipedia was launched exactly fifteen years ago, on January 15, 2001 (https://15.wikipedia.org/). Wikipedia and VPHA share much of the same philosophy: both are worldwide efforts based on voluntary work, and both are aimed for collectively creating correct information for everyone's benefit. Today should be a good day to share what we have done already in VPHA related to the Wikipedia ALD history update, Item #11 in the VPHA Publication Plan. These are easy to track back through "view history" tab in Wikipedia.

On the importance of defining the problem - What information is missing about the early days of ALD?

"It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem." These words have influenced me ever since I red them as a student of chemical engineering at Helsinki University of Technology (nowadays Aalto University) in mid-1990s. The words were written at the beginning of a chapter in the book of Chemical Reaction Engineering;* I was majoring in industrial chemistry with professor Outi Krause (of ALD, I knew nothing yet). I may have forgotten everything else that was written in that book, but these words made a permanent impact on me.

Beginning of a chapter in the book "Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering" by H. Scott Fogler.* These words by G. K. Chesterton have stayed in my mind ever since seeing this. Photo by Riikka Puurunen. 

Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA) started from a question: "What are the "Molecular layering" papers by Koltsov from "early 1960's?" This question I asked in the ALD - Atomic Layer Deposition LinkedIn group in the spring 2013. One can still find the question and the lively discussion that followed, here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1885076/1885076-238399494.
These words had caught my attention in the ALD Hall of Fame by aldpulse.com; they disturbed me as I did not know what exactly they referred to.

VPHA ALD history review 1st co-author email

The message below was sent 18 December to 13 prospective co-authors of the scientific VPHA ALD History Review. Those potentially interested in co-authoring the review article but who did not receive the initial email, please contact me at firstname.lastname@vtt.fi no later than by the end of January 2016. Alternatively, you let us know of your interest through emailing info@ vph-ald.com.

The ML essay indicated "to be published soon" has in the meantime been published (link).

Begin forwarded message:

Updates made to VPHA website http://vph-ald.com

With the publication of the Molecular Layering essay by Malygin et al., I was happy to update the VPHA webpage http://vph-ald.com:

VPHA's ALD History Review begins with formulation of questions (DL Jan 10)

In VPHA, we have started to prepare for the general scientific review on the history of ALD, Item #10 in the VPHA Publication Plan. The first step towards the review is that we will collect questions to which the review should answer, and other suggestions regarding the review. All current and potential future VPHA co-authors are welcome to participate in this questions-forming activity.

VPHA ALD 2016 preparation begins: more co-authors welcome

In VPHA, we are starting to prepare for the final scientific presentation: a presentation at the ALD 2016 conference in Ireland. This is Item #9 in the VPHA Publication Plan.

The first abstract draft has been sent to all VPHA co-authors - 39 at the moment -  to view and comment, and also to prospective co-authors (> 20). The figure below shows the current distribution per country of VPHA co-authors. At the moment, 347 publications are listed for reading in VPHA, and 367 comments on these have been written. In total, about 1000 comments should be written, so there is obviously still quite some work to do. More volunteers are welcome, and needed, to bring the work to a good end.

Distribution of the VPHA co-authors (total of 39) per country (total of 11), as of December 10, 2015.