Stéphanos Konstantinidis

Mardi 18 novembre à 10h30 - Magnetron sputtering at the University of Mons

 Stéphanos KONSTANTINIDIS
Laboratory of Plasma-Surface Interaction Chemistry (ChIPS)

Biography

Prof. Stéphanos Konstantinidis graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Mons-Hainaut in 2000 and got a PhD degree in Material science in 2004. After a Research Engineer position at Materia Nova R&D center and a postoctoral position at the Institute of Materials Chemistry RWTH Aachen University, Stephanos currently holds a Research Director of the Belgian F.N.R.S. in the laboratory of Plasma-Surface Interaction Chemistry (ChIPS) and Associate Professor at the University of Mons (UMONS) where he teaches analytical chemistry at the bachelor level and plasma physics and chemistry at the master level.

His research focuses on the determining which are the factors influencing the growth of functional thin films.

Abstract

This presentation provides a retrospective overview of 25 years of research on magnetron sputtering at the University of Mons.

The first part addresses early work on high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), as well as more recent studies on bipolar HiPIMS plasmas. The role of pulse parameters on the ionization rate of sputtered metal atoms and plasma dynamics is investigated thanks to time-resolved plasma diagnostics.

The second part discusses the deposition of transition metal oxide thin films, with particular attention to the relationship between plasma–substrate interactions and the modification of coating density and crystallinity, exemplified by TiO₂. In a similar vein, the critical role of defect chemistry in phase formation is demonstrated by the deposition of oxygen-deficient ZrO₂ films. The synthesis of such materials was enabled by carefully tuning the reactive DC discharge to operate within the so-called transition zone.

The optimization of the reactive deposition process also enabled the fabrication of thermochromic VO₂ films. Their subsequent hybridization with plasmonic nanoparticles and the implementation of glancing angle deposition (GLAD), which allows tight control over the film nanostructure, led to the development of high-tunability optical platforms. Further investigations explored the capabilities of magnetron sputtering for nanomaterial synthesis. CuO nanotubes were produced by sputtering Cu onto silicon trenches, followed by oxidation and promotion of the Kirkendall effect.

Finally, the most recent developments in sputtering onto vacuum-compatible liquid substrates are introduced. This approach enables the production of nanoparticle solutions and hydrogel–plasmonic nanoparticle hybrids, with promising applications in chemical sensing.

Contact : Jérémy Barbé (PCM)