Computer design of combinatorial shadow mask for ternary composition spread library

A simple rotational shadow masking system has been designed by computer simulation for application to the fabrication of a ternary composition spread material library. A mask plate is stencilled off a right triangle pattern and a trapezoid pattern. This can define the thickness gradient of films deposited from three different sources along the axes between the tops and the mid-points of bottom lines of a triangle on a substrate surface. Optimizing the angles of the triangle and trapezoid patterns and regulating the rates of mask moving, the computer simulation predicts that the film thickness of each component varies linearly from one mono-layer at the top to zero at the bottom. This process enables the construction of a ternary phase diagram by repeating the film deposition sequence. This prediction has been mathematically derived in this study.