System and method for depositing a seed layer

• US 7,410,893 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2005
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Thirukkovalur, Niranjan, Lindner, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarkar; Asok K
• Application Number:
  US11/101,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20060228887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 438/608, 438/609, 257/E21.161, 257/E21.586
• US Class Current: 438/609
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0237 Materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02491 Conductive materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02554 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02628 using solutions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76874 for electroless plating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1292 using liquid deposition, e.g. printing
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7869 having a semiconductor body comprising an oxide semiconductor material, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide, cadmium stannate

Abstract

A method for depositing a seed layer for a controllable electric pathway on a substrate includes selectively dispensing a seed material from an inkjet material dispenser onto said substrate.

Claims

1. A method for forming a zinc oxide layer on a substrate comprising:

selectively dispensing a seed material from an inkjet material dispenser onto a substrate according to a desired pattern of zinc oxide on said substrate, wherein said seed material is configured to produce a zinc oxide layer on said substrate by electroless plating, said zinc oxide layer corresponding to said pattern of said dispensed seed material; and

exposing said substrate to a zinc oxide plating material to form said zinc oxide layer on said substrate corresponding to said pattern of said dispensed seed material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said seed material comprises one of a stannous chloride or a tin/palladium complex.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating said seed layer design comprises:

graphically generating said pattern on a computing device; and

converting said pattern to a plurality of servo commands configured to control said selective dispensing of said seed material.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a channel layer of a transistor from said zinc oxide layer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting said seed layer to palladium prior to exposing said substrate to a zinc oxide plating material.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said converting said seed layer to palladium comprises exposing a stannous chloride seed layer to a palladium chloride solution.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said converting said seed layer to palladium comprises exposing a tin/palladium complex to an accelerating solution.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said accelerating solution comprises fluoroboric acid and sulfuric acid.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said zinc oxide plating material comprises a solution of zinc nitrate (Zn(NO₃)₂) and dimethylamine borane (C₂H₁₀BN).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein exposing said substrate to a zinc oxide plating material comprises immersing said substrate in a solution of zinc nitrate (Zn(NO₃)₂) and dimethylamine borane (C₂H₁₀BN).

11. A method for depositing material on a substrate via electroless plating comprising:

selectively depositing a seed material onto said substrate with an inkjet material dispenser, said seed material being configured to aid in formation of a controllable electric pathway, wherein said seed material comprises a tin/palladium complex; and

exposing said substrate to at least one solution configured to react with said seed material to form a catalytic coating on said substrate; and

exposing said substrate to a zinc oxide plating solution to produce a zinc oxide layer with said catalytic coating, said zinc oxide layer having a pattern corresponding to a pattern of said selective-deposited seed material.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said exposing said substrate to at least one solution configured to react with said seed material to form a catalytic coating on said substrate comprises immersing said substrate in said solution.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said selectively depositing a seed material onto said substrate with an inkjet material dispenser comprises:

graphically generating a seed pattern on a computing device;

converting said graphical seed pattern into a number of servo commands; and

sending said servo commands to a servo mechanism associated with said inkjet material dispenser to cause said inkjet material dispenser to dispenser said seed material according to said seed pattern.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said zinc oxide plating solution comprises zinc nitrate (Zn(NO₃)₂) and dimethylamine borane (C₂H₁₀BN).

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said exposing said substrate to at least one solution configured to react with said seed material to form a catalytic coating on said substrate comprises:

immersing said substrate in an accelerating solution.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said accelerating solution is configured to substantially remove tin from said tin/palladium complex.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said accelerating solution comprises fluoroboric acid and sulfuric acid.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising rinsing said substrate between said selectively depositing a seed material and exposing said substrate to at least one solution configured to react with said seed material.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said rinsing comprises immersing said substrate in de-ionized water.