ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION OF METAL CARBIDE FILMS USING ALUMINUM HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
First Claim
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1. An atomic layer deposition process for forming a metal carbide thin film on a substrate in a reaction space, comprising:
- alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with vapor phase pulses of a first metal precursor and a first aluminum hydrocarbon compound, such that a metal carbide film comprising from about 6 to about 16% aluminum is formed.
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Abstract
Methods of forming metal carbide films are provided. In some embodiments, a substrate is exposed to alternating pulses of a transition metal species and an aluminum hydrocarbon compound, such as TMA, DMAH, or TEA. The aluminum hydrocarbon compound is selected to achieve the desired properties of the metal carbide film, such as aluminum concentration, resistivity, adhesion and oxidation resistance. In some embodiments, the methods are used to form a metal carbide layer that determines the work function of a control gate in a flash memory.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. An atomic layer deposition process for forming a metal carbide thin film on a substrate in a reaction space, comprising:
alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with vapor phase pulses of a first metal precursor and a first aluminum hydrocarbon compound, such that a metal carbide film comprising from about 6 to about 16% aluminum is formed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
- 24. A control gate in a flash memory structure comprising a tantalum carbide layer, wherein the tantalum carbide layer comprises aluminum and wherein the work function of the control gate is determined by the work function of the tantalum carbide layer.
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27. A method for forming a flash memory on a substrate comprising:
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forming a dielectric layer on the substrate; forming a charge trap layer directly over and adjacent to the dielectric layer; forming a barrier oxide directly over and adjacent to the charge trap layer; forming a metal carbide control gate over the barrier oxide; etching the dielectric layer, charge trap layer, barrier oxide and control gate to form a flash structure; and passivating the flash structure by depositing SiO2, wherein the metal carbide control gate comprises aluminum and during the deposition of SiO2 the aluminum in the metal carbide reacts with oxygen to self-passivate the control gate. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of forming a metal carbide thin film with a desired level of oxidation resistance comprising:
depositing a metal carbide thin film by alternately and sequentially contacting a substrate with vapor phase pulses of a metal precursor and an aluminum hydrocarbon compound, wherein one or more reaction conditions are selected to produce a desired concentration of aluminum in the metal carbide thin film, and wherein the concentration of aluminum in the metal carbide is from about 1 to about 30%. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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