The continued advancement of Moore's Law will require improved materials to prevent dielectric breakdown in the ever diminishing transistor gates of microelectronics. Hafnium oxide thin films present attractive gate properties with a dielectric constant eight times that of silicon oxide and are already being used by industry leaders such as IBM, Texas Instruments, and NEC. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) provides a means of controlled film formation for hafnium transistor dielectrics. ALD processes require a volatile precursor to bring the metal to the substrate in the vapor phase. Herein, we explore the volatility of several hafnium complexes and their use as precursors for ALD. Specifically, we examine complexes that employ beta-diketiminato ligands with varying alkyl and aromatic N-substituents. Furthermore, the effect of precursor and deposition temperature will be analyzed on resultant ALD film composition and uniformity.

Precursor design for the atomic layer deposition of hafnium oxide/oxynitride thin films

244th National Meeting (2012)

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