Low Temperature (<100°C) Deposition of Aluminum Oxide Thin Films by ALD with O[sub 3] as Oxidant

Abstract

films were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using trimethylaluminum and as precursor and oxidant, respectively, at growth temperatures ranging from room temperature to on Si(100) substrates. Growth rate and refractive index of the films decreased from and increased from 1.52 to 1.65, respectively, with increasing growth temperature. The dielectric constant slightly increased from 6.8 to 8 with increasing growth temperature in the same temperature range. films grown using as oxidant show a smaller hysteresis, lower leakage current density, and higher breakdown field strength compared to those using as oxidant at the same growth temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the films grown at lower temperatures have a smaller bandgap energy. The films grown at a temperature as low as showed reasonable dielectric properties for dielectric film applications on flexible substrates.