Atomic layer deposition of transition metal thin films
AssigneeWayne State University
InventorsCharles H. Winter, Thomas J. Knisley, Thiloka Ariyasena
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Abstract
An atomic layer deposition method for forming metal films on a substrate comprises a deposition cycle including: a) contacting a substrate with a vapor of a metal-containing compound described by formula 1 for a first predetermined pulse time to form a first modified surface: MLn (1) wherein: n is 1 to 8; M is a transition metal; L is a ligand; b) contacting the first modified surface with an acid for a second predetermined pulse time to form a second modified surface; and c) contacting the second modified surface with a reducing agent for a third predetermined pulse time to form a metal layer.
Claims20
A method of forming a metal film on a substrate, the method comprising a deposition cycle including:
- a) contacting a substrate with a vapor of a metal-containing compound described by formula 1 for a first predetermined pulse time to form a first modified surface:
- MLn (1)
- wherein:
- n is 1 to 8;
- M is a transition metal;
- L is a ligand;
- b) contacting the first modified surface with an acid for a second predetermined pulse time to form a second modified surface;
- and
- c) contacting the second modified surface with a reducing agent for a third predetermined pulse time to form a metal layer.
A method of forming a metal film on a substrate, the method comprising a deposition cycle including:
- a) contacting a substrate with a vapor of a metal-containing compound described by formula 1 for a first predetermined pulse time to form a first modified surface:
- MLn (1)
- wherein:
- n is 1 to 8;
- M is a transition metal;
- L is a ligand;
- b) contacting the first modified surface with an acid for a second predetermined pulse time to form a second modified surface, the pKa of the conjugate acid to L is larger than the pKa of the acid used in this step;
- and
- c) contacting the second modified surface with a reducing agent for a third predetermined pulse time to form a metal layer, the deposition cycle being repeated a plurality of times to form a metal film having a thickness from about 5 nanometers to about 300 nanometers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.