Abstract
Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a gas-phase thin film deposition technique based on repeated, self-terminating gas–solid reactions, has become the method of choice in semiconductor manufacturing and many other technological areas for depositing thin conformal inorganic material layers for various applications. ALD has been discovered and developed independently, at least twice, under different names: atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) and molecular layering. ALE, dating back to 1974 in Finland, has been commonly known as the origin of ALD, while work done since the 1960s in the Soviet Union under the name “molecular layering” (and sometimes other names) has remained much less known. The virtual project on the history of ALD (VPHA) is a volunteer-based effort with open participation, set up to make the early days of ALD more transparent. In VPHA, started in July 2013, the target is to list, read and comment on all early ALD academic and patent literature up to 1986. VPHA has resulted in two essays and several presentations at international conferences. This paper, based on a poster presentation at the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition in Dublin, Ireland, 2016, presents a recommended reading list of early ALD publications, created collectively by the VPHA participants through voting. The list contains 22 publications from Finland, Japan, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States. Up to now, a balanced overview regarding the early history of ALD has been missing; the current list is an attempt to remedy this deficiency.
Highlights
Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a gas-phase thin film deposition technique based on repeated, self-terminating gas–solid reactions, has become the method of choice in semiconductor manufacturing and many other technological areas for depositing thin conformal inorganic material layers for various applications.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] ALD has been discovered and developed independently at least twice under different names: molecular layering (ML) since the 1960s in the Soviet Union and atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) since 1974 in Finland
ALE is commonly known as the origin of ALD,[1,2,3,4,6,8] while the work made under the name ML has remained relatively poorly known and cited.[2,4,6]
Some previous knowledge of ALD and the ability to work in an atmosphere of openness, respect, and trust have been the requirements for participation in virtual project on the history of ALD (VPHA) as a volunteer.[9]
Summary
Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a gas-phase thin film deposition technique based on repeated, self-terminating gas–solid reactions, has become the method of choice in semiconductor manufacturing and many other technological areas for depositing thin conformal inorganic material layers for various applications.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] ALD has been discovered and developed independently at least twice under different names: molecular layering (ML) since the 1960s in the Soviet Union and atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) since 1974 in Finland. The invitation to participate in VPHA has been openly available since July 25, 2013, and is appended as supplementary material to this article.[9] Some previous knowledge of ALD and the ability to work in an atmosphere of openness, respect, and trust have been the requirements for participation in VPHA as a volunteer.[9] At the time of writing this manuscript, 73 persons from 21 countries in four continents have volunteered in VPHA. At the time of writing this communication on September 27, 2016, ALD-history-evolvingfile contained references to 366 early ALD publications and 888 individual comments made on them by 73 volunteer contributors.
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