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Title: On the physical and chemical details of alumina atomic layer deposition: A combined experimental and numerical approach

Abstract

Alumina thin film is typically studied as a model atomic layer deposition (ALD) process due to its high dielectric constant, high thermal stability, and good adhesion on various wafer surfaces. Despite extensive applications of alumina ALD in microelectronics industries, details on the physical and chemical processes are not yet well understood. ALD experiments are not able to shed adequate light on the detailed information regarding the transient ALD process. Most of current numerical approaches lack detailed surface reaction mechanisms, and their results are not well correlated with experimental observations. In this paper, the authors present a combined experimental and numerical study on the details of flow and surface reactions in alumina ALD using trimethylaluminum and water as precursors. Results obtained from experiments and simulations are compared and correlated. By experiments, growth rate on five samples under different deposition conditions is characterized. The deposition rate from numerical simulation agrees well with the experimental results. Details of precursor distributions in a full cycle of ALD are studied numerically to bridge between experimental observations and simulations. The 3D transient numerical model adopts surface reaction kinetics and mechanisms based on atomic-level studies to investigate the surface deposition process. Surface deposition is shown as amore » strictly self-limited process in our numerical studies. ALD is a complex strong-coupled fluid, thermal and chemical process, which is not only heavily dependent on the chemical kinetics and surface conditions but also on the flow and material distributions.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 (United States)
  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 and School of Engineering, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska 99508 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22392156
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, Vacuum, Surfaces and Films
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 33; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: (c) 2015 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0734-2101
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; ALUMINIUM OXIDES; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; DEPOSITION; MICROELECTRONICS; PERMITTIVITY; REACTION KINETICS; SURFACES; THIN FILMS

Citation Formats

Pan, Dongqing, Ma, Lulu, Xie, Yuanyuan, Yuan, Chris, and Jen, Tien Chien. On the physical and chemical details of alumina atomic layer deposition: A combined experimental and numerical approach. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1116/1.4905726.
Pan, Dongqing, Ma, Lulu, Xie, Yuanyuan, Yuan, Chris, & Jen, Tien Chien. On the physical and chemical details of alumina atomic layer deposition: A combined experimental and numerical approach. United States. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4905726
Pan, Dongqing, Ma, Lulu, Xie, Yuanyuan, Yuan, Chris, and Jen, Tien Chien. 2015. "On the physical and chemical details of alumina atomic layer deposition: A combined experimental and numerical approach". United States. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4905726.
@article{osti_22392156,
title = {On the physical and chemical details of alumina atomic layer deposition: A combined experimental and numerical approach},
author = {Pan, Dongqing and Ma, Lulu and Xie, Yuanyuan and Yuan, Chris and Jen, Tien Chien},
abstractNote = {Alumina thin film is typically studied as a model atomic layer deposition (ALD) process due to its high dielectric constant, high thermal stability, and good adhesion on various wafer surfaces. Despite extensive applications of alumina ALD in microelectronics industries, details on the physical and chemical processes are not yet well understood. ALD experiments are not able to shed adequate light on the detailed information regarding the transient ALD process. Most of current numerical approaches lack detailed surface reaction mechanisms, and their results are not well correlated with experimental observations. In this paper, the authors present a combined experimental and numerical study on the details of flow and surface reactions in alumina ALD using trimethylaluminum and water as precursors. Results obtained from experiments and simulations are compared and correlated. By experiments, growth rate on five samples under different deposition conditions is characterized. The deposition rate from numerical simulation agrees well with the experimental results. Details of precursor distributions in a full cycle of ALD are studied numerically to bridge between experimental observations and simulations. The 3D transient numerical model adopts surface reaction kinetics and mechanisms based on atomic-level studies to investigate the surface deposition process. Surface deposition is shown as a strictly self-limited process in our numerical studies. ALD is a complex strong-coupled fluid, thermal and chemical process, which is not only heavily dependent on the chemical kinetics and surface conditions but also on the flow and material distributions.},
doi = {10.1116/1.4905726},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22392156}, journal = {Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, Vacuum, Surfaces and Films},
issn = {0734-2101},
number = 2,
volume = 33,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}