Substrate Biasing during Plasma-Assisted ALD for Crystalline Phase-Control of TiO(2) Thin Films

Substrate biasing has been implemented in a remote plasma atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor, enabling control of the ion energy up to 260 eV. For TiO(2) films deposited from Ti(Cp(Me))(NMe(2))(3) and O(2) plasma it is demonstrated that the crystalline phase can be tailored by tuning the ion energy. Rutile TiO(2) was obtained at 200 and 300 degrees C, typically yielding amorphous and anatase films without biasing. Aspects such as film mass density, [O]/[Ti] ratio and growth per cycle under biased conditions are addressed. The results demonstrate that substrate biasing is a viable method for ALD to tailor ultra-thin film properties. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.024202esl] All rights reserved

Substrate-biasing during plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition to tailor metal-oxide thin film growth

Two substrate-biasing techniques, i.e., substrate-tuned biasing and RF biasing, have been implemented in a remote plasma configuration, enabling control of the ion energy during plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD). With both techniques, substrate bias voltages up to -200 V have been reached, which allowed for ion energies up to 272 eV. Besides the bias voltage, the ion energy and the ion flux, also the electron temperature, the electron density, and the optical emission of the plasma have been measured. The effects of substrate biasing during plasma-assisted ALD have been investigated for Al2O3, Co3O4, and TiO2 thin films The growth per cycle, the mass density, and the crystallinity have been investigated, and it was found that these process and material properties can be tailored using substrate biasing. Additionally, the residual stress in substrates coated with Al2O3 films varied with the substrate bias voltage. The results reported in this article demonstrate that substrate biasing is a promising technique to tailor the material properties of thin films synthesized by plasma-assisted ALD. (C) 2013 American Vacuum Society. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1116/1.4756906

Ion and Photon Surface Interaction during Remote Plasma ALD of Metal Oxides

The influence of ions and photons during remote plasma atomic layer deposition (ALD) of metal oxide thin films was investigated for different O-2 gas pressures and plasma powers. The ions have kinetic energies o

Plasma-Assisted Atomic Layer Deposition: Basics, Opportunities, and Challenges

Plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an energy-enhanced method for the synthesis of ultra-thin films with A angstrom-level resolution in which a plasma is employed during one step of the cyclic deposition process. The use of plasma species as reactants allows for more freedom in processing conditions and for a wider range of material properties compared with the conventional thermally-driven ALD method. Due to the continuous miniaturization in the microelectronics industry and the increasing relevance of ultra-thin films in many other applications, the deposition method has rapidly gained popularity in recent years, as is apparent from the increased number of articles published on the topic and plasma-assisted ALD reactors installed. To address the main differences between plasma-assisted ALD and thermal ALD, some basic aspects related to processing plasmas are presented in this review article. The plasma species and their role in the surface chemistry are addressed and different equipment configurations, including radical-enhanced ALD, direct plasma ALD, and remote plasma ALD, are described. The benefits and challenges provided by the use of a plasma step are presented and it is shown that the use of a plasma leads to a wider choice in material properties, substrate temperature, choice of precursors, and processing conditions, but that the processing can also be compromised by reduced film conformality and plasma damage. Finally, several reported emerging applications of plasma-assisted ALD are reviewed. It is expected that the merits offered by plasma-assisted ALD will further increase the interest of equipment manufacturers for developing industrial-scale deposition configurations such that the method will find its use in several manufacturing applications. VC 2011 American Vacuum Society

Influence of the Oxidant on the Chemical and Field-Effect Passivation of Si by ALD Al2O3

Differences in Si surface passivation by aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films synthesized using H2O and O-3-based thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma ALD have been revealed. A low interface defect density of D-it = similar to 1011 eV(-1) cm(-2) was obtained after annealing, independent of the oxidant. This low D-it was found to be vital for the passivation performance. Field-effect passivation was less prominent for H2O-based ALD Al2O3 before and after annealing, whereas for as-deposited ALD films with an O-2 plasma or O-3 as the oxidants, the field-effect passivation was impaired by a very high Dit. (C) 2010 The Electrochemical Society