Process for producing metal thin films by ALD
First Claim
1. A process for producing an electrically conductive noble metal thin film on a substrate in a reactor by atomic layer deposition, comprising:
- placing a substrate in a reaction chamber within the reactor;
providing a vaporized noble metal precursor pulse into the reaction chamber to form no more than about a single molecular layer of the precursor on the substrate;
removing excess vaporized noble metal precursor from the reaction chamber;
providing a second reactant gas pulse comprising oxygen to the reaction chamber such that the oxygen reacts with the precursor on the substrate;
removing excess second reactant gas and any reaction by-products from the reaction chamber; and
repeating until a thin film of a desired thickness is obtained.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates generally to processes for producing electrically conductive noble metal thin films on a substrate by atomic layer deposition. According to one embodiment of the invention a substrate with a surface is provided in a reaction chamber and a vaporised precursor of a noble metal is pulsed into the reaction chamber. By contacting the vaporised precursor with the surface of the substrate, no more than about a molecular layer of the metal precursor is formed on the substrate. In a next step, a pulse of molecular oxygen-containing gas is provided in the reaction chamber, where the oxygen reacts with the precursor on the substrate. Thus, high-quality metal thin films can be deposited by utilising reactions between the metal precursor and oxygen. In one embodiment, electrically conductive layers are deposited in structures that have high aspect ratio vias and trenches, local high elevation areas or other similar surface structures that make the surface rough.
199 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A process for producing an electrically conductive noble metal thin film on a substrate in a reactor by atomic layer deposition, comprising:
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placing a substrate in a reaction chamber within the reactor;
providing a vaporized noble metal precursor pulse into the reaction chamber to form no more than about a single molecular layer of the precursor on the substrate;
removing excess vaporized noble metal precursor from the reaction chamber;
providing a second reactant gas pulse comprising oxygen to the reaction chamber such that the oxygen reacts with the precursor on the substrate;
removing excess second reactant gas and any reaction by-products from the reaction chamber; and
repeating until a thin film of a desired thickness is obtained. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A process for producing a noble metal thin film on a substrate comprising:
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placing a substrate in a reaction chamber;
pulsing a vaporized noble metal precursor into the reaction chamber to form an adsorbed layer of the noble metal precursor on the substrate;
removing excess vaporized noble metal precursor;
converting the adsorbed noble metal precursor layer to a noble metal layer by contacting the substrate with a gas containing oxygen;
removing excess oxygen-containing gas and any reaction by-products; and
repeating until a thin film of the desired thickness is formed. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A process for producing a capacitor in an integrated circuit, comprising:
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depositing a first insulating layer on a silicon substrate having a doped region;
forming a conductive material contacting the substrate through the insulating layer;
depositing a barrier layer over an exposed surface of the conductive material;
depositing a first electrode layer comprising a noble metal on the barrier layer by an atomic layer deposition process;
depositing a second insulating layer on the first electrode layer; and
depositing a second electrode layer comprising a noble metal on the second insulator by an atomic layer deposition process. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of producing an ultra-high density magnetic recording device comprising:
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forming a first ferromagnetic recording layer on a substrate;
forming by an atomic layer deposition process a non-magnetic layer consisting essentially of a noble metal on the first ferromagnetic recording layer; and
forming a second ferromagnetic recording layer on the non-magnetic layer. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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Specification