AVS 66th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Atomic Scale Processing Focus Topic Tuesday Sessions
       Session AP+EL+MS+PS+SS+TF-TuA

Invited Paper AP+EL+MS+PS+SS+TF-TuA3
Elucidating the Mechanisms for Atomic Layer Growth through In Situ Studies

Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 3:00 pm, Room B130

Session: Advancing Metrology and Characterization to enable Atomic Layer Processing
Presenter: Jeffrey Elam, Argonne National Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) provides exquisite control over film thickness and composition and yields excellent conformality over large areas and within nanostructures. These desirable attributes derive from self-limiting surface chemistry, and can disappear if the self-limitation is removed. Understanding the surface chemical reactions, i.e. the ALD mechanism, can provide insight into the limits of self-limitation allowing better control, successful scale up, and the invention of new processes. In situ measurements are very effective for elucidating ALD growth mechanisms. In this presentation, I will describe our recent investigations into the growth mechanisms of ALD nanocomposite films comprised of conducting (e.g. W, Mo and Re) and insulating (e.g. Al2O3, ZrO2 and TiO2) components using in situ measurements. These ALD nanocomposites have applications in particle detection, energy storage, and solar power. We have performed extensive in situ studies using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy, and current-voltage measurements. These measurements reveal unusual ALD chemistry occurring upon transitioning between the ALD processes for the two components. This results in unique reaction products that affect the properties of the films in beneficial ways. The knowledge gained from our in situ studies of the ALD nanocomposite films has helped us to solve problems encountered when we scaled up the ALD processes to large area substrates.