Thin film atomic layer deposition equipment for semiconductor processing

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ultrathin high-K dielectric films has recently penetrated research and development lines of several major memory and logic manufacturers due to the promise of unprecedented control of thickness, uniformity, quality and material properties. LYNX-ALD technology from Genus, currently at beta phase, was designed around the anticipation that future ultrathin materials are likely to be binary, ternary or quaternary alloys or nanolaminate composites. A unique chemical delivery system enables synergy between traditional, production-proven low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technology and atomic layer deposition (ALD) controlled by sequential surface reactions. Source chemicals from gas, liquid or solid precursors are delivered to impinge on reactive surfaces where self-limiting surface reactions yield film growth with layer-by-layer control. Surfaces are made reactive by the self-limiting reactions, by surface species manipulation, or both. The substrate is exposed to one reactant at a time to suppress possible chemical vapor deposition (CVD) contribution to the film. Precisely controlled composite materials with multiple-component dielectric and metal-nitride films can be deposited by ALD techniques. The research community has demonstrated these capabilities during the past decade. Accordingly, ALD equipment for semiconductor processing is unanimously in high demand. However, mainstream device manufacturers still criticize ALD to be non-viable for Semiconductor device processing. This article presents a broad set of data proving feasibility of ALD technology for semiconductor device processing. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.