US 12,518,967 B1 · Area selective deposition templated by hydrogen and halogen resists

Abstract

A process for area selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) at the near atomic scale (sub 10 nm) is disclosed. A substrate surface is cleaned and terminated with hydrogen and a pattern written in the hydrogen terminated surface by selectively depassivating the surface using scanning tunneling microscope lithography. The depassivated regions are subjected to a halogen flux with the thus passivated regions further subjected to a functionalization process creating functionalized regions. The role of hydrogen and halogen can be inverted to invert the tone of the pattern. The substrate is then subjected to the ALD process, with growth occurring only in the non-functionalized regions. The substrate may then optionally be subjected to selective etching to remove the functionalized regions and the portions of the substrate under the functionalized regions.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A process for fabricating a device, the process comprising the steps of:

providing a substrate;
cleaning a surface of the substrate;
terminating the surface of the substrate with one of hydrogen, a halogen, or a pseudo-halogen to thereby form a terminated surface, the halogen not including Br;
patterning the terminated surface, the step of patterning including:
depassivating one or more regions of the terminated surface;
and
subjecting the thus depassivated one or more regions of the terminated surface to a flux of Br to thereby create one or more passivated regions;
subjecting the terminated surface and the one or more passivated regions to a functionalization process whereby each of the one or more passivated regions is terminated with covalently-bonded molecules to thereby form one or more corresponding functionalized regions;
and
selectively growing a layer of material on the terminated surface, wherein the layer of material does not grow on the one or more functionalized regions.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Area selective deposition templated by hydrogen and halogen resists

Life of this patent

Area selective deposition templated by hydrogen and halogen resists

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17