PATTERNED ATOMIC LAYER EPITAXY

• US 20080092803A1
• Filed: 12/13/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zyvex Labs, Llc
• Original Assignee: Zyvex Labs, Llc
• Inventors: Randall, John, Stallcup, Richard, Skidmore, George, Peng, Jingping, Baur, Christof, Liu, Jun-Fu, Folaron, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,799,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 117/97
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/04 Pattern deposit, e.g. by using masks
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/14 Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases

Abstract

A patterned layer is formed by removing nanoscale passivating particle from a first plurality of nanoscale structural particles or by adding nanoscale passivating particles to the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles. Each of a second plurality of nanoscale structural particles is deposited on each of corresponding ones of the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles that is not passivated by one of the plurality of nanoscale passivating particles.

Claims

1. A method of creating a structure, comprising:

patterning a first passivation layer with a first pattern, wherein the first passivation layer comprises a first plurality of nanoscale passivating particles, and wherein the first passivation layer is located on a first structural layer that comprises a first plurality of nanoscale structural particles;

growing a second plurality of nanoscale structural particles on ones of the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles from which ones of the first plurality of nanoscale passivating particles were removed by patterning the first passivation layer, wherein growing the second plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) in which the ones of the first plurality of nanoscale structural particles have the same composition as the second plurality of nanoscale structure particles grown thereon;

patterning a second passivation layer with a second pattern, wherein the second passivation layer comprises a second plurality of nanoscale passivating particles, and wherein the second passivation layer is located on a second structural layer that comprises a third plurality of nanoscale structural particles;

growing a fourth plurality of nanoscale structural particles on ones of the third plurality of nanoscale structural particles from which ones of the second plurality of nanoscale passivating particles were removed by patterning the second passivation layer, wherein growing the fourth plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises one heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE in which the fourth plurality of nanoscale structural particles have a different composition relative to the third plurality of nanoscale structure particles grown thereon; and

growing a fifth plurality of nanoscale structural particles on the fourth plurality of nanoscale structural particles, wherein growing the fifth plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein growing the second plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein growing the fifth plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein growing the second plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE, and wherein growing the fifth plurality of nanoscale structural particles comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first passivation layer and the second passivation layer are substantially coplanar, and wherein the first structural layer and the second structural layer are substantially coplanar.

6. A method of creating a structure, comprising:

(a) removing a portion of a passivation layer to form a pattern of openings therein and thereby expose portions of a structural layer underlying the passivation layer, and then growing these exposed portions of the structural layer via at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective atomic layer epitaxy (ALE);

(b) forming an additional passivation layer over at least the homoepitaxially-grown portions of the structural layer; and

(c) removing a portion of the additional passivation layer to form a different pattern of openings therein and thereby expose additional portions of the structural layer, and then growing these additional exposed portions of the structural layer via a heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE and then at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising repeating steps (b) and (c), in sequence, for each of a plurality of different patterns.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the growing of step (a) comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the growing of step (c) comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the growing of step (a) comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE, and wherein the growing of step (c) comprises a plurality of homoepitaxial cycles of selective ALE.

11. A method of creating a structure, comprising:

(a) removing a portion of a passivation layer to form a pattern of openings therein and thereby expose portions of a structural layer underlying the passivation layer, and then growing these exposed portions of the structural layer via at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective atomic layer epitaxy (ALE);

(b) removing at least another portion of the passivation layer to thereby expose additional portions of the structural layer, and then growing these exposed portions of the structural layer via at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE;

(c) forming an additional passivation layer over at least the portions of the structural layer which were homoepitaxially-grown during steps (a) and (b);

(d) removing a portion of the additional passivation layer to form a different pattern of openings therein and thereby expose portions of the homoepitaxially-grown portions of the structural layer, and then growing these exposed portions of the homoepitaxially-grown portions of the structural layer via a heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE and then at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE; and

(e) removing at least another portion of the additional passivation layer to thereby expose additional portions of the homoepitaxially-grown portions of the structural layer, and then growing these exposed portions of the homoepitaxially-grown portions of the structural layer via a heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE and then at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising repeating steps (c), (d), and (e), in sequence, for each of a plurality of different patterns.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the growing of step (a) comprises at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of a first material, the growing of step (b) comprises at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of a second material, the growing of step (d) comprises a heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of the first material and at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of the first material, the growing of step (e) comprises a heteroepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of the second material and at least one homoepitaxial cycle of selective ALE of the second material, and the first and second materials are different in composition.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the second material has a high etching selectivity relative to the first material.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the first material is one of silicon and germanium and the second material is the other of silicon and germanium.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein one of the first and second materials is a sacrificial material, and the method further comprises:

(f) etching to remove the sacrificial material.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the first material is one of silicon and germanium and the second material is the other of silicon and germanium.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the passivation layer and the additional passivation layer each comprise a plurality of nanoscale passivating particles, wherein each of the plurality of nanoscale passivating particles is one of a single passivating molecule and a single passivating atom; and

the grown portions of the structural layer each comprise a plurality of nanoscale structural particles, wherein each of the plurality of nanoscale structure particles is one of a single structural molecule and a single structural atom.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein the removing of each of steps (a), (b), (d), and (e) includes at least one of:

individually removing each of a plurality of nanoscale passivating particles with a scanning probe device, in a substantially serial manner; and

substantially simultaneously removing each of a plurality of nanoscale passivating particles with a parallel array of scanning probes, in a substantially parallel manner.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the removing of step (a), the removing of step (b), the removing of step (d), and the removing of step (e) is at least partially automated.