Electrical Properties of Al2O3 Films Grown by the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (ECR-PEALD) and Thermal ALD Methods

Abstract

Aluminum-oxide(Al2O3) thin films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition at room temperature using trimethylaluminum(TMA) as the Al source and O2 plasma as the oxidant. In order to compare our results with those obtained using the conventional thermal ALD method, Al2O3 films were also deposited with TMA and H2O as reactants at 280 oC. The chemical composition and microstructure of the as-deposited Al2O3 films were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photo-electric spectroscopy(XPS), atomic force microscopy(AFM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Optical properties of the Al2O3 films were characterized using UV-vis and ellipsometry measurements. Electrical properties were characterized by capacitance-frequency and current-voltage measurements. Using the ECR method, a growth rate of 0.18 nm/cycle was achieved, which is much higher than the growth rate of 0.14 nm/cycle obtained using thermal ALD. Excellent dielectric and insulating properties were demonstrated for both Al2O3 films.