Dataset Information

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO₂ through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

ABSTRACT: Atomic-scale precision alignment is a bottleneck in the fabrication of next-generation nanoelectronics. In this study, a redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is introduced to tackle this challenge. The 'reduction-adsorption-oxidation' ALD cycles are designed by adding an in-situ reduction step, effectively inhibiting nucleation on copper. As a result, tantalum oxide exhibits selective deposition on various oxides, with no observable growth on Cu. Furthermore, the self-aligned TaO_x is successfully deposited on Cu/SiO₂ nanopatterns, avoiding excessive mushroom growth at the edges or the emergence of undesired nucleation defects within the Cu region. The film thickness on SiO₂ exceeds 5 nm with a selectivity of 100%, marking it as one of the highest reported to date. This method offers a streamlined and highly precise self-aligned manufacturing technique, which is advantageous for the future downscaling of integrated circuits.

SUBMITTER: Li Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10372027 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO<sub>2</sub> through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

Li Yicheng Y Qi Zilian Z Lan Yuxiao Y Cao Kun K Wen Yanwei Y Zhang Jingming J Gu Eryan E Long Junzhou J Yan Jin J Shan Bin B Chen Rong R

Nature communications 20230726 1

Atomic-scale precision alignment is a bottleneck in the fabrication of next-generation nanoelectronics. In this study, a redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is introduced to tackle this challenge. The 'reduction-adsorption-oxidation' ALD cycles are designed by adding an in-situ reduction step, effectively inhibiting nucleation on copper. As a result, tantalum oxide exhibits selective deposition on various oxides, with no observable growth on Cu. Furthermore, the self ...[more]

PMID: 37495604

Similar Datasets

Project description:Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alumina using trimethylaluminum (TMA) has technological importance in microelectronics. This process has demonstrated a high potential in applications of protective coatings on Cu surfaces for control of diffusion of Cu in Cu2S films in photovoltaic devices and sintering of Cu-based nanoparticles in liquid phase hydrogenation reactions. With this motivation in mind, the reaction between TMA and oxygen was investigated on Cu(111) and Cu2O/Cu(111) surfaces. TMA did not adsorb on the Cu(111) surface, a result consistent with density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicting that TMA adsorption and decomposition are thermodynamically unfavorable on pure Cu(111). On the other hand, TMA readily adsorbed on the Cu2O/Cu(111) surface at 473 K resulting in the reduction of some surface Cu(1+) to metallic copper (Cu(0)) and the formation of a copper aluminate, most likely CuAlO2. The reaction is limited by the amount of surface oxygen. After the first TMA half-cycle on Cu2O/Cu(111), two-dimensional (2D) islands of the aluminate were observed on the surface by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). According to DFT calculations, TMA decomposed completely on Cu2O/Cu(111). High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) was used to distinguish between tetrahedrally (Altet) and octahedrally (Aloct) coordinated Al(3+) in surface adlayers. TMA dosing produced an aluminum oxide film, which contained more octahedrally coordinated Al(3+) (Altet/Aloct HREELS peak area ratio ≈ 0.3) than did dosing O2 (Altet/Aloct HREELS peak area ratio ≈ 0.5). After the first ALD cycle, TMA reacted with both Cu2O and aluminum oxide surfaces in the absence of hydroxyl groups until film closure by the fourth ALD cycle. Then, TMA continued to react with surface Al-O, forming stoichiometric Al2O3. O2 half-cycles at 623 K were more effective for carbon removal than O2 half-cycles at 473 K or water half-cycles at 623 K. The growth rate was approximately 3-4 Å/cycle for TMA+O2 ALD (O2 half-cycles at 623 K). No preferential growth of Al2O3 on the steps of Cu(111) was observed. According to STM, Al2O3 grows homogeneously on Cu(111) terraces.

Dataset Information

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO₂ through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

Publications

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO<sub>2</sub> through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets

Dataset Information

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO2 through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

Publications

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO<sub>2</sub> through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO₂ through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition.