A liquid alkoxide precursor for the atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide films

For large-scale atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alumina, the most commonly used alkyl precursor trimethylaluminum poses safety issues due to its pyrophoric nature. In this work, the authors have investigated a liquid alkoxide, aluminum tri-sec-butoxide (ATSB), as a precursor for ALD deposition of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of vacuum science & technology. A, Vacuum, surfaces, and films Vacuum, surfaces, and films, 2020-03, Vol.38 (2)
Main Authors: Cao, LiAo, Mattelaer, Felix, Sajavaara, Timo, Dendooven, Jolien, Detavernier, Christophe
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:For large-scale atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alumina, the most commonly used alkyl precursor trimethylaluminum poses safety issues due to its pyrophoric nature. In this work, the authors have investigated a liquid alkoxide, aluminum tri-sec-butoxide (ATSB), as a precursor for ALD deposition of alumina. ATSB is thermally stable and the liquid nature facilitates handling in a bubbler and potentially enables liquid injection toward upscaling. Both thermal and plasma enhanced ALD processes are investigated in a vacuum type reactor by using water, oxygen plasma, and water plasma as coreactants. All processes achieved ALD deposition at a growth rate of 1–1.4 Å/cycle for substrate temperatures ranging from 100 to 200 °C. Film morphology, surface roughness, and composition have been studied with different characterization techniques.
ISSN:0734-2101
1520-8559
DOI:10.1116/1.5139631