Atomic layer deposition by reaction of molecular oxygen with tetrakisdimethylamido-metal precursors

Abstract

Tetrakisdimethylamido (TDMA) based precursors are commonly used to deposit metal oxides such as TiO2, ZrO2, and HfO2 by means of chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Both thermal and plasma enhanced ALD (PEALD) have been demonstrated with TDMA-metal precursors. While the reactions of TDMA-type precursors with water and oxygen plasma have been studied in the past, their reactivity with pure O2 has been overlooked. This paper reports on experimental evaluation of the reaction of molecular oxygen (O2) and several metal organic precursors based on TDMA ligands. The effect of O2 exposure duration and substrate temperature on deposition and film morphology is evaluated and compared to thermal reactions with H2O and PEALD with O2 plasma.