SiO2 thin film growth through a pure atomic layer deposition technique at room temperature.

D. Arl,V. Rogé,N. Bahlawane,N. Adjeroud,B. R. Pistillo,M. Sarr,D. Lenoble

doi:10.1039/d0ra01602k

Abstract

In this study, less contaminated and porous SiO2 films were grown via ALD at room temperature. In addition to the well-known catalytic effect of ammonia, the self-limitation of the reaction was demonstrated by tuning the exposure of SiCl4, NH3 and H2O. This pure ALD approach generated porous oxide layers with very low chloride contamination in films. This optimized RT-ALD process could be applied to a wide range of substrates that need to be 3D-coated, similar to mesoporous structured membranes.

Highlights

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) and more generally ultra-thin oxide lms have been extensively described as good components for modern nanotechnologies such as dielectric materials in silicon microelectronic devices,[1,2] anticorrosion lms[3] or nonexhaustive applications of nanoscale lms in catalysis
This paper describes a pure atomic layer deposition (ALD) study of SiO2 using the optimized sequential exposure of SiCl4, H2O and NH3(g) precursors at room temperature
Based on studies by George et al.,[31] we investigated the growth of SiO2 at room temperature (RT)-ALD by alternatively exposing the surface to SiCl4 and H2O under a constant ow of NH3

Summary

Introduction

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) and more generally ultra-thin oxide lms have been extensively described as good components for modern nanotechnologies such as dielectric materials in silicon microelectronic devices,[1,2] anticorrosion lms[3] or nonexhaustive applications of nanoscale lms in catalysis. The environment- and human-friendly nature of SiO2 induces its wide use in protective layers for antisticking, antifogging, selfcleaning or water repellency.[4,5,6,7] Various techniques such as chemical vapor deposition,[8] lithographic patterning,[9] electrochemical deposition[10] or sol–gel[11,12] were investigated to prepare superhydrophobic SiO2 by tuning surface roughness or energy. SiO2 is consistently known for its application in protective or gate insulator coatings[13] and interfacing high-k SiO2 is consistently known for its application in protective or gate insulator coatings[13] and interfacing high-k (ref. 14–19) or surface passivation materials.[20,21,22,23] The increased demand for transparent active materials at the nanoscale justify the need for a deposition technique compatible with sensitive pre-deposited underlying layers, exible plastic devices or high aspect ratio substrates.[24,25,26,27,28] atomic layer deposition (ALD) is considered as one of the most suitable techniques for its performance in terms of sub-nanometer thickness control and penetration coating into deep trenches or mesoporous structures

Methods

Results

Conclusion