Jon Owyang, Jeff Bailey & Subrata Chatterji, Aviza Technology, Inc., CA, USA

ABSTRACT

Fundamentally,atomiclayer deposition (ALD) is a straightforward and tolerant deposition technique. Most chemical vapor deposition (CVD)  reactors (i.e. batch and single wafer) can be modified to deposit materials in an ALD mode. However, the critical barriers in making ALD a production-worthy process lies in the challenge of processing films in ALD mode that is quick enough to meet the technical film requirements for uniformity, step coverage, defect density and electrical properties. The design of the liquid/gas delivery/distribution system, the chamber and exhaust mechanism are the key differentiators between R&D tools vs. high-volume manufacturing tools.