99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY X-RAY DIFFRACTION WAFER MAPPING METHOD

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed an X-ray diffraction (XRD) method for determining twin defects in single crystals, poly-crystals, and crystalline structures at whole-wafer scale. This method will identify primary twin defects in wafers, benefiting wafer-level mass production of (111) plane-oriented cubic semiconductors such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or SiGe on trigonal crystal substrates and enabling the fabrication of twin-free, rhombohedral single-crystalline SiGe layer regions. This innovation further benefits NASAs rhombohedral super-hetero epitaxial semiconductor materials technology in which various cubic semiconductors (group IV in diamond, group IIIV and IIVI in cubic zinc-blende structure) can be atomically aligned and grown on the c-plane of trigonal crystals. This unprecedented epitaxy technology produces new types of high-quality epitaxial layers, suitable for fabrication of various noble electrical and optical devices. This new method is the first of its kind. The X-ray diffraction-based wafer mapping technology can characterize a whole wafer with micrometer-to-millimeter resolution and with part-per-million sensitivity. Previously, only destructive microscopic defect evaluation, such as transmission electron microscopy analysis, was available. Macroscopic characterization over whole wafers was not possible, and twin defects measured with electron microscopy characterized only a small region of the wafer. Now, quality can be greatly improved and defective wafers can be eliminated. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to [email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.nasa.gov/ . These responses are provided to members of NASA Langleys Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development OSACB for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.