Hydrogen plasma pretreatment effect on the deposition of aluminum thin films from metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using dimethylethylamine alane
Tw. Jang et al., Hydrogen plasma pretreatment effect on the deposition of aluminum thin films from metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using dimethylethylamine alane, J VAC SCI A, 17(3), 1999, pp. 1031-1035
To study the effect of pretreatment of substrates on the deposition behavio
r of Al thin films, the surfaces of TiN and SiO2 substrates were exposed to
hydrogen plasma or Ar plasma before Al deposition. The Al films were depos
ited by the pyrolysis of dimethylethylamine alane (DMEAA). A uniform Al fil
m was deposited by the hydrogen plasma exposure to a SiO2 substrate, while
island grains were grown by the Ar plasma exposure. The pretreatments of a
TiN substrate did not affect the deposition rate of the Al film. The concen
tration of OH radicals at the SiO2 surface was increased by the hydrogen pl
asma treatment. We suggest a model in which OH radicals enhance the adsorpt
ion of DMEAA on a SiO2 surface, resulting in a larger number of nucleation
sites. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(99)04003-8].