Self-assembled monolayer resist for atomic layer deposition of HfO2 and ZrO2 high-κ gate dielectrics

Abstract

A molecular layer resist for HfO2 and ZrO2 atomic layer deposition (ALD) was demonstrated by using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicated that silicon samples terminated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS) were deactivated with respect to subsequent ALD of metal oxide gate dielectrics, under conditions in which standard chemical oxide passivated substrates are highly effective templates for ALD film growth. A time-dependent investigation of SAM formation showed that the efficiency of deactivation depends strongly on the quality of the SAMs, with a high-quality, closely packed ODTS film crucial for achieving complete blocking of the HfO2 and ZrO2 ALD process.