SURFACE-CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS DEPOSITION AT ATOMIC LAYER LEVEL

Structures in modern semiconductor devices are getting smaller and sma ller, coming close to atomic dimensions. The demand for materials proc essing at atomic layer level can be approached from extreme process co ntrol or from delicate utilization of surface chemistry. The opportuni ty in the surface chemistry approach is to create conditions for monoa tomic layer buildup through saturated surface reactions. Material laye r processing through sequentially performed saturated surface reaction s is generally referred to as atomic layer epitaxy (ALE). ALE has been successfully applied in commercial manufacturing of thin film electro luminescent displays. Also, extensive scientific work has been done fo r applying atomic layer controlled growth of epitaxial layers and supe rlattice structures of III-V and II-VI semiconductors. Surface control led build-up of molecular structures has recently been applied to poro us supports for heterogeneous catalysts. For further progress in atomi c layer level controlled materials processing well understood surface chemistry is of major importance.