Development of a dip coater device for applications in nanotechnologies

• Grant number: 19/09254-1
• Support type: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: July 01, 2020 - June 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Design
• Principal researcher: Matheus Suenson Cardoso
• Grantee: Matheus Suenson Cardoso
• Company: Autoscience Technologies Projetos e Consultoria Ltda
• CNAE: Fabricação de equipamentos e aparelhos elétricos não especificados anteriormente ; Fabricação de máquinas e equipamentos para uso industrial específico não especificados anteriormente ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• City: São Paulo
• Assoc. researchers: Gustavo Gimenez Parra ; Lucas de Biasi Cabral dos Santos ; Lúcia Akemi Miyazato Saito ; Rodrigo Mendes Gerosa
• Associated research grant: 18/01121-0 - Development of a dip coater device for applications in nanotechnology, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/09566-0 - Mechanical and electronic project for thin films deposition equipment, BP.TT; 20/09546-0 - Development of a dip coater device for applications in nanotechnologies, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Layer by Layer thin films can be constructed by dip-coating technique by immersion / emersion of the film to be assembled and / or functionalized in a saturated solution of the chosen solute. Immersing and emerging such a film through precise control of parameters such as time, velocity and position of the substrate will make films more homogeneous and reproducible. Such parameters will only have accuracy from a device that controls them, such as a dip coater. This will reflect an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio in spectroscopy and physicochemistry experiments. Given the great interest of the scientific community for studies in heterostructures based on two-dimensional materials, the project aims at the development of a low cost dip coater with control of all parameters, a coupled spectrophotometer for an in situ analysis of deposited films, a heating base for temperature control of the solution, a substrate polarizer to improve adhesion between films, and / or substrates of the same charge, besides the possibility of customization for various customer needs. The design of the thin film deposition device will have a structure fixed to a movable base that traverses a course in the Z axis, this course will be controlled by a trapezoidal spindle with a flange in which its rotation is moved by a step motor, which in turn will be controlled by a specific software through a driver for stepper motors. This structure will go down with controlled speed, it will monitor the time that will remain in the solution, then it will rise again to the origin position. Each sample will be fixed at the ends of the structure and will be fixed by plastic tweezers, which also allows the use of the device to clean substrates using acids. The beakers with the solution will have their position pre-fixed in a base, with recesses made for volumes of: 5 ml, 10 ml and 25 ml. The materials used in the project structure will be in acrylic, which allows a laser cut for a better finish and dimensional accuracy of the components, and aluminum, a light metal and easy to machining. Devices created using heterostructures made of graphene and other two-dimensional materials can be used to detect low-energy photons that dramatically increase the efficiency of optoelectronic applications, including cameras, infrared spectrometers, and telecommunications systems. The compact, customizable, multifunctional and cost-effective dip coater design has great impact, since those available in the market are high cost, imported and without the innovative multifunctional features proposed in this project. (AU)