Area Selective Atomic Layer Deposition by Microcontact Printing with a Water-Soluble Polymer

The use of a water-soluble polymer for area selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) with microcontact printing (mu CP) has been studied. Polymethacrylamide (PMAM) was spin-coated and patterned onto substrates of silicon by mu CP, generating patterns down to 2 mu m in size. The resist properties were tested against Pt ALD. The results show that films of Pt were grown selectively on the PMAM-free regions and significantly blocked in the presence of the polymer. Scanning electron microscopy and scanning Auger electron spectroscopy showed sharp pattern transfer of PMAM and good propagation of the pattern into the Pt layer. The PMAM layer was simply removed just by dipping in water. After the removal process, the PMAM-coated surface exhibited the same properties as the original SiO(2) surface. The use of PMAM as an ALD resist offers good selectivity and high spatial resolution and provides a new, convenient route toward achieving spatially patterned film growth. (C) 2010 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3491376] All rights reserved.