Applications of atomic layer deposition to nanofabrication and emerging nanodevices

Recently, with scaling down of semiconductor devices, need for nanotechnology has increased enormously. For nanoscale devices especially, each of the layers should be as thin and as perfect as possible. Thus, the application of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to nanofabrication strategies and emerging nanodevices has sparked a good deal of interest due to its inherent benefits compared to other thin film deposition techniques. Since the ALD process is intrinsically atomic in nature and results in the controlled deposition of films at the atomic scale, ALD produces layers with nanometer scale thickness control and excellent conformality. In this report, we review current research trends in ALD processes, focusing on the application of ALD to emerging nanodevices utilizing fabrication through nanotechnology. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.