(Invited) Atomic Layer Deposition for Epitaxial Oxides on Silicon

Abstract

Thin films of crystalline oxides integrated with silicon are of interest for novel devices that utilize the rich variety of functional properties of oxide materials. Growth of crystalline oxides on silicon requires careful control of a nanometer thin transition region to avoid deleterious side reactions such as oxidation of the substrate. Submonolayer surface reconstructions of alkaline earth metals such as Sr are key to controlling the interface for successful growth. Previously, this has only been accomplished using molecular beam epitaxy growth methods, but there is interest to create an alternative process based on atomic layer deposition. In this work we demonstrate the successful deposition of the critical (2x1) Sr/Si reconstruction using SrO ALD deposition combined with oxide desorption. The results show that ALD based crystalline oxide heteroepitaxy is promising.