Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition: Conformal Coating, Subnanometer Thickness Control, and Smart Positioning

Transistors have already been made three-dimensional (3D), with device channels (i.e., fins in trigate field-effect transistor (FinFET) technology) that are taller, thinner, and closer together in order to enhance device performance and lower active power consumption. As device scaling continues, these transistors will require more advanced, fabrication-enabling technologies for the conformal deposition of high-kappa dielectric layers on their 3D channels with accurate position alignment and thickness control down to the subnanometer scale. Among many competing techniques, area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) is a promising method that is well suited to the requirements without the use of complicated, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-incompatible processes. However, further progress is limited by poor area selectivity for thicker films formed via a higher number of ALD cycles as well as the prolonged processing time. In this issue of ACS Nano, Professor Stacy Bent and her research group demonstrate a straightforward self-correcting ALD approach, combining selective deposition with a postprocess mild chemical etching, which enables selective deposition of dielectric films with thicknesses and processing times at least 10 times larger and 48 times shorter, respectively, than those obtained by conventional AS-ALD processes. These advances present an important technological breakthrough that may drive the AS-ALD technique a step closer toward industrial applications in electronics, catalysis, and photonics, etc. where more efficient device fabrication processes are needed.