AVS 49th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuA

Paper TF-TuA8
Atomic Layer Deposition of Aluminum Oxide Using Dimethylaluminum Isopropoxide and Water

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 4:20 pm, Room C-101

Session: Atomic Layer Deposition - Oxides
Presenter: Y. Kim, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
Authors: K.-S. An, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
S.S. Lee, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
W.T. Cho, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
J.M. Kim, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, South Korea
K. Sung, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
Y. Kim, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, South Korea
Correspondent: Click to Email
Dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAI), (CH@sub 3@)@sub 2@AlOCH(CH@sub 3@)@sub 2@, a precursor originally developed for the metal organic chemical vapor deposition of alumina, was adopted as a new precursor for growing aluminum oxide thin films on HF-treated Si and chemically-induced SiO@sub 2@/Si substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD). This precursor is stable for a prolonged period of storage time under inert atmosphere (such as in nitrogen or argon) and does not react vigorously in air, and therefore is easy to handle and safe, without causing hazards. The self-limiting ALD process by alternate surface reactions of DMAI and H@sub 2@O was confirmed from thickness measurements of the aluminum oxide thin films as a function of DMAI pulse time and also as a function of the DMAI-H@sub 2@O cycle. The growth rates on HF-treated Si and chemically-induced SiO@sub 2@/Si were saturated to about 1.04 Å/cycle at the substrate temperature range of ~120-150 °C. Dependence of growth rate on H@sub 2@O pulse time as well as substrate temperature was also monitored. The grown Al@sub 2@O@sub 3@ thin films were characterized for surface roughness, stoichiometry, and electrical properties by atomic force microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and I-V measurements, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was also employed to investigate the oxidation states of the interfaces between the HF-treated Si substrates and the aluminum oxide films. In conclusion, our preliminary results verify the validity of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide as a new ALD source for aluminum oxide.