Growth of crystalline Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} via thermal atomic layer deposition: Nanomaterial phase stabilization
- Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, District of Columbia 20375 (United States)
We report the growth of crystalline Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films deposited by thermal Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) at 200 °C, which up to now has always resulted in the amorphous phase. The 5 nm thick films were deposited on Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}, ZnO, and Si nanowire substrates 100 nm or less in diameter. The crystalline nature of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin film coating was confirmed using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), including high-resolution TEM lattice imaging, selected area diffraction, and energy filtered TEM. Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coatings on nanowires with diameters of 10 nm or less formed a fully crystalline phase, while those with diameters in the 20–25 nm range resulted in a partially crystalline coating, and those with diameters in excess of 50 nm were fully amorphous. We suggest that the amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase becomes metastable with respect to a crystalline alumina polymorph, due to the nanometer size scale of the film/substrate combination. Since ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films are widely used as protective barriers, dielectric layers, as well as potential coatings in energy materials, these findings may have important implications.
- OSTI ID:
- 22269549
- Journal Information:
- APL Materials, Vol. 2, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2014 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2166-532X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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