Hollow Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Silicon Nitride Using Pentachlorodisilane

Abstract

In this work, a novel chlorodisilane precursor, pentachlorodisilane (PCDS, HSiCl), was investigated for the growth of silicon nitride (SiN ) via hollow cathode plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). A well-defined self-limiting growth behavior was successfully demonstrated over the growth temperature range of 270-360 °C. At identical process conditions, PCDS not only demonstrated approximately>20% higher growth per cycle than that of a commercially available chlorodisilane precursor, hexachlorodisilane (SiCl), but also delivered a better or at least comparable film quality determined by characterizing the refractive index, wet etch rate, and density of the films. The composition of the SiN films grown at 360 °C using PCDS, as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, showed low O content (∼2 at. %) and Cl content (<1 at. %; below the detection limit). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra suggested that N-H bonds were the dominant hydrogen-containing bonds in the SiN films without a significant amount of Si-H bonds originating from the precursor molecules. The possible surface reaction pathways of the PEALD SiN using PCDS on the surface terminated with amine groups (-NH and -NH-) are proposed. The PEALD SiN films grown using PCDS also exhibited a leakage current density as low as 1-2 nA/cm at 2 MV/cm and a breakdown electric field as high as ∼12 MV/cm.

Low Temperature Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition of Aluminum Nitride Using Hydrazine as the Nitrogen Source

“…The films were deposited using home-built ALD system with a hollow-cathode plasma source (Meaglow Ltd., Thunder Bay, Canada) provision to generate plasma. This ALD system has been used for deposition of various nitride films using thermal ALD or PEALD processes [18][19][20][21]. The stainless-steel chamber wall was heated to~120 • C and the precursor delivery lines were maintained at 90 • C to avoid condensation.…”

Recent Advances in Hollow Cathode Technology for Plasma-Enhanced ALD—Plasma Surface Modifications for Aluminum and Stainless-Steel Cathodes

“…[28] SiO 2 (PE-ALD) [7,24,25] β-Ga 2 O 3 (PE-ALD) [38] Silicon nitride (PE-ALD) [22,23,27,31,37,40] Plasma treatment (PE-ALD) [26] Electron treatment (CVD based) [36,39] GaN (CVD based) [42,44,45,55] InN (CVD based) [41][42][43]45,47,48,53,57,58] InGaN (CVD based) [49,51,54,56] InN nanopillars (CVD based) [46,50,52,55] The oxygen contamination overview provided in this introduction is followed by an experimental examination of some effects related to the surface modification of cathode materials by the generated plasma. In particular, we examine changes that have been observed for aluminum and stainless-steel cathodes.…”

“…It is worth mentioning some of the results from the University of Texas, Dallas, where some excellent quality, low oxygen content silicon nitride layers have been grown using a hollow cathode plasma source [22,23,27,31]. The layers, grown at 300 • C, are among the best silicon nitride ever grown at low temperature, with current leakage at 2 MV/cm of 1-2 nA/cm 2 and a breakdown voltage of approximately 12 MV/cm [22]. The film density Coatings 2021, 11, 1506 6 of 26 was an impressive 2.9 g/cm 3 [22,23], which allowed a high resistance to etching with 100:1 HF solution of 0.8 nm/min [23].…”

Plasma meets metamaterials: Three ways to advance space micropropulsion systems

“…To cover the necessary range of plasma densities, the suggested set of technological plasma sources may include helicon, CCP [86], or ECR [87] plasma sources employed for the preliminary cleaning, heating, and functionalization of the surface; HIPIMS [88] and vacuum arc guns [89], or CCP and ICP [90] sources to conduct the deposition of precursors from the metal or gas phases, respectively. Hollow cathodes [91] enhanced by the auxiliary magnetic field generated by the external system of the magnetic coils [92] (neutral-loop discharge [93], e.g.) may also be used to confine and guide the plasma or to conduct a duplex treatment [94,95].…”