Radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition using CF4 to enhance oxygen radical generation

A method of performing a radical-enhanced atomic-layer deposition (RE-ALD) process on a surface of a substrate that resides within an interior of a reactor chamber, comprising:

• providing a first precursor gas comprising oxygen radicals O* by forming an oxygen plasma from a gas mixture within a plasma tube, wherein the plasma tube is pneumatically coupled to the interior of the reactor chamber, and wherein the gas mixture consists of CF4 gas and O2 gas, wherein the CF4 gas has a concentration of 0.1 vol % to 10 vol %;
• providing a second precursor gas from a gas source that is pneumatically coupled to the interior of the reactor chamber;
• and
• sequentially introducing the first precursor gas and the second precursor gas into the interior of the reactor chamber to form an oxide film on the surface of the substrate.

A system for performing a radical-enhanced atomic-layer deposition (RE-ALD) process on a surface of a substrate, comprising:

• a reactor chamber having an interior configured to support the substrate;
• a gas source pneumatically coupled to the interior of the reactor chamber and that contains a gas mixture consisting of CF4 and O2, wherein the CF4 has a concentration in the gas mixture of 0.1 vol % to 10 vol %;
• a plasma system pneumatically connected to the interior of the reactor chamber and configured to form from the gas mixture a plasma that generates oxygen radicals O* faster than if the gas mixture did not contain CF4;
• a vacuum pump pneumatically connected to the interior of the reactor chamber;
• and
• a controller operably connected to the plasma system, the vacuum pump and the gas source, the controller being configured to introduce the oxygen radicals and a precursor gas sequentially into the interior of the reactor chamber to form an oxide film on the surface of the substrate.