Low Temperature Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Metal Oxide Thin Films

摘要

Many reported ALD processes are carried out at elevated temperatures (> 100 °C), which is problematic for temperature-sensitive substrates. Plasma-enhanced ALD routes may provide a solution, as the ALD temperature window can be extended to lower deposition temperatures. As such, the plasma-enhanced ALD of Al_2O_3, TiO_2 and Ta_2O_5 has been investigated at 25-150 °C using [Al(CH_3)_3], [Ti(O~iPr)_4], [Ti(Cp~(Me))(O~iPr)_3] and [Ta(NMe_2)_5] respectively as precursors. An O_2 plasma was employed as the oxygen source. We have demonstrated metal oxide thin film deposition at temperatures as low as room temperature and compared the results with corresponding thermal ALD routes to the same materials.