Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition Using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Polymerized Fluorocarbon Layer: A Case Study for Metal Oxides

Abstract

Area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) has attracted immense attention in recent years for self-aligned accurate pattern placement with subnanometer thickness control. Here, we demonstrate a methodology to achieve AS-ALD by using inductively couple plasma (ICP) grown fluorocarbon polymer film as hydrophobic blocking layer for selective deposition. Our approach has been tested for metal-oxide materials including ZnO, Al2O3, and HfO2. Contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectroscopic ellipsometer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements were performed to investigate the blocking ability of plasma polymerized fluorocarbon layers against ALD-grown metal-oxide films. A considerable growth inhibition for ZnO has been observed on fluorocarbon coated Si(100) surfaces, while the same polymerized surface caused a relatively slow nucleation for HfO2 films. No growth selectivity was obtained for Al2O3 films, displaying almost the same nucleation behavior on Si and fluorocarbon ...