In situ formation of inhibitor species through catalytic surface reactions during area-selective atomic layer deposition of TaN.

Small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) have been gaining attention in the field of area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) because they can be applied in the vapor-phase. A major challenge for SMIs is that vapor-phase application leads to a disordered inhibitor layer with lower coverage as compared to self-assembled monolayers, SAMs. A lower coverage of SMIs makes achieving high selectivity for area-selective ALD more challenging. To overcome this challenge, mechanistic understanding is required for the formation of SMI layers and the resulting precursor blocking. In this study, reflection adsorption infrared spectroscopy measurements are used to investigate the performance of aniline as an SMI. Our results show that aniline undergoes catalytic surface reactions, such as hydrogenolysis, on a Ru non-growth area at substrate temperatures above 250 °C. At these temperatures, a greatly improved selectivity is observed for area-selective TaN ALD using aniline as an inhibitor. The results suggest that catalytic surface reactions of the SMI play an important role in improving precursor blocking, likely through the formation of a more carbon-rich inhibitor layer. More prominently, catalytic surface reactions can provide a new strategy for forming inhibitor layers that are otherwise very challenging or impossible to form directly through vapor-phase application.

Unfolding an Elusive Area-Selective Deposition Process: Atomic Layer Deposition of TiO2 and TiON on SiN vs SiO2.

Area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) processes for TiO2 and TiON on SiN as the growth area vs SiO2 as the nongrowth area are demonstrated on patterns created by state-of-the-art 300 mm semiconductor wafer fabrication. The processes consist of an in situ CF4/N2 plasma etching step that has the dual role of removing the SiN native oxide and passivating the SiO2 surface with fluorinated species, thus rendering the latter surface less reactive toward titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) precursor. Additionally, (dimethylamino)trimethylsilane was employed as a small molecule inhibitor (SMI) to further enhance the selectivity. Virtually perfect selectivity was obtained when combining the deposition process with intermittent CF4/N2 plasma-based back-etching steps, as demonstrated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy inspections. Application-compatible thicknesses of ∼8 and ∼5 nm were obtained for thermal ALD of TiO2 and plasma ALD of TiON.

Voltage-based magnetization switching and reading in magnetoelectric spin-orbit nanodevices.

As CMOS technologies face challenges in dimensional and voltage scaling, the demand for novel logic devices has never been greater, with spin-based devices offering scaling potential, at the cost of significantly high switching energies. Alternatively, magnetoelectric materials are predicted to enable low-power magnetization control, a solution with limited device-level results. Here, we demonstrate voltage-based magnetization switching and reading in nanodevices at room temperature, enabled by exchange coupling between multiferroic BiFeO3 and ferromagnetic CoFe, for writing, and spin-to-charge current conversion between CoFe and Pt, for reading. We show that, upon the electrical switching of the BiFeO3, the magnetization of the CoFe can be reversed, giving rise to different voltage outputs. Through additional microscopy techniques, magnetization reversal is linked with the polarization state and antiferromagnetic cycloid propagation direction in the BiFeO3. This study constitutes the building block for magnetoelectric spin-orbit logic, opening a new avenue for low-power beyond-CMOS technologies.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Sb2 Te3 /GeTe Superlattice Film and Its Melt-Quenching-Free Phase-Transition Mechanism for Phase-Change Memory.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Sb2 Te3 /GeTe superlattice (SL) film on planar and vertical sidewall areas containing TiN metal and SiO2 insulator is demonstrated. The peculiar chemical affinity of the ALD precursor to the substrate surface and the 2D nature of the Sb2 Te3 enable the growth of an in situ crystallized SL film with a preferred orientation. The SL film shows a reduced reset current of ≈1/7 of the randomly oriented Ge2 Sb2 Te5 alloy. The reset switching is induced by the transition from the SL to the (111)-oriented face-centered-cubic (FCC) Ge2 Sb2 Te5 alloy and subsequent melt-quenching-free amorphization. The in-plane compressive stress, induced by the SL-to-FCC structural transition, enhances the electromigration of Ge along the [111] direction of FCC structure, which enables such a significant improvement. Set operation switches the amorphous to the (111)-oriented FCC structure.

Synthesis of Silyl Aluminum Reagents: Relevance Toward Atomic Layer Deposition of Metal Silicides and the Serendipitous Synthesis of a Novel Al-Hydride Cluster.

The novel mono-silyl [(R3Si)AlX2]2, di-silyl [(R3Si)2AlX]2, tri-silyl (R3Si)3Al·Et2O, and -ate-complex [(R3Si)4Al]-·Li+(Et2O)2 have been synthesized by reaction of AlX3 (X = Cl, Br) with silyl lithium reagents (tBuMe2SiLi, Et3SiLi) in Et2O. Treatment of these compounds with Me3N yields the corresponding amine-coordinated silyl aluminum complexes (R3Si)AlX2·NMe3, (R3Si)2AlX·NMe3, and (R3Si)3Al·NMe3. An intramolecular amine-coordinated mono-silyl aluminum complex Me2N(CH2)3(tBuMe2Si)2SiAlCl2 was prepared by the reaction of Me2N(CH2)3(tBuMe2Si)2SiLi with AlCl3 in Et2O. In addition, reaction of [(tBuMe2Si)2AlBr]2 with LiAlH4 yields the novel aluminum hydride cluster [(tBuMe2Si)2Al(µ-H)AlH3]6 which upon addition of TMEDA yields the ion pair [((tBuMe2Si)2AlH)2(µ-H)]-[AlH2(TMEDA)2]+. The amine-coordinated di- and tri-silyl aluminum complexes possess higher thermal stability than the analogous etherate complexes and are reasonably volatile (100-140 °C, 0.2 Torr). The materials presented herein were analyzed via thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to assess their viability as potential ALD precursors.

Mechanism of Thermal Atomic Layer Etch of W Metal Using Sequential Oxidation and Chlorination: A First-Principles Study.

Thermal atomic layer etch (ALE) of W metal can be achieved by sequential self-limiting oxidation and chlorination reactions at elevated temperatures. In this paper, we analyze the reaction mechanisms of W ALE using the first-principles simulation. We show that oxidizing agents such as O2, O3, and N2O can be used to produce a WOx surface layer in the first step of an ALE process with ozone being the most reactive. While the oxidation pulse on clean W is very exergonic, our study suggests that runaway oxidation of W is not thermodynamically favorable. In the second ALE pulse, WCl6 and Cl2 remove the oxidized surface W atoms by the formation of volatile tungsten oxychloride (WxOyClz) species. In this pulse, each adsorbed WCl6 molecule was found to remove one surface W atom with a moderate energy cost. Our calculations further show that the desorption of the additional etch products is endothermic by up to 4.7 eV. Our findings are consistent with the high temperatures needed to produce ALE in experiments. In total, our quantum chemical calculations have identified the lowest energy pathways for ALE of tungsten metal along with the most likely etch products, and these findings may help guide the development of improved etch reagents.

Formation of organic nanoscale laminates and blends by molecular layer deposition.

Nanoscale organic films are important for many applications. We report on a system of molecular layer deposition that allows for the deposition of conformal organic films with thickness and composition control at the subnanometer length scale. Nanoscale polyurea films are grown on silica substrates in a layer-by-layer fashion by dosing 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate (PDIC) and ethylenediamine (ED) in the gas phase. Ellipsometry measurements indicate that the film growth occurs at a constant growth rate, with film thicknesses consistent with molecular distances calculated using density functional theory. Characterization of the films by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals formation of stable polyurea films with nearly stoichiometric composition, and transmission electron microscopy indicates that the films uniformly coat the substrate surface. Subnanometer control over the film composition was demonstrated using 2,2'-thiobis(ethylamine) (TBEA) as an alternate diamine to vary the composition of the films. By substituting TBEA for ED, blended films, with homogeneous composition through the film, and nanolaminates, with discrete layers of differing film chemistry, were created.

Synthesis of the 2,4,5-tri-tert-butyl-1,3-diphospholide anion by phosphinidene elimination from 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl-1,3,5-triphosphabenzene on treatment with the amide Li[NPh(SiMe3)].

Treatment of the lithium amide Li[NPh(SiMe3)] with 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl-1,3,5-triphosphabenzene, P(3)C(3)tBu(3), in a 1:2 ratio afforded equimolar amounts of the lithium salt of the five-membered 2,4,5-tri-tert-butyl-1,3-diphospholide anion, LiP(2)C(3)tBu(3) (isolated as its N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) adduct), and the tricyclic compound 6-[phenyl(trimethylsilyl)amino]-3,5,7-tri-tert-butyl-1,2,4,6-tetraphosphatricyclo[3.2.0.0(2,7)]hept-3-ene. Both compounds have been structurally characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The mechanism of this remarkable reaction has been elucidated by theoretical methods at the B3LYP/6-311+G** level of theory. The reaction involves a hitherto unobserved aminophosphinidene, which was formed by abstraction of a phosphorus atom from triphosphabenzene. The intermediate aminophosphinidene, which is further stabilised by the solvent THF, shows, in agreement with previous theoretical predictions, enhanced stability and reacts then with a second molecule of triphosphabenzene.

Rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling of fluorinated phosphine-borane adducts: synthesis, characterization, and properties of cyclic and polymeric phosphinoboranes with electron-withdrawing substituents at phosphorus.

The dehydrocoupling of the fluorinated secondary phosphine-borane adduct R2PH.BH3 (R = p-CF3C6H4) at 60 degrees C is catalyzed by the rhodium complex [{Rh(mu-Cl)(1,5-cod)}2] to give the four-membered chain R2PH-BH2-R2P-BH3. A mixture of the cyclic trimer [R2P-BH2]3 and tetramer [R2P-BH2]4 was obtained from the same reaction at a more elevated temperature of 100 degrees C. The analogous rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling of the primary phosphine-borane adduct RPH2.BH3 at 60 degrees C gave the high molecular weight polyphosphinoborane polymer [RPH-BH2]n (Mw = 56,170, PDI = 1.67). The molecular weight was investigated by gel permeation chromatography and the compound characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Interestingly, the electron-withdrawing fluorinated aryl substituents have an important influence on the reactivity as the dehydrocoupling process occurred efficiently at the mildest temperatures observed for phosphine-borane adducts to date. Thin films of polymeric [RPH-BH2]n (R = p-CF3C6H4) have also been shown to function as effective negative-tone resists towards electron beam (e-beam) lithography (EBL). The resultant patterned bars were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS).

Poisoning of heterogeneous, late transition metal dehydrocoupling catalysts by boranes and other group 13 hydrides.

Borane reagents are widely used as reductants for the generation of colloidal metals. When treated with a variety of heterogeneous catalysts such as colloidal Rh, Rh/Al2O3, and Rh(0) black, BH3.THF (THF = tetrahydrofuran) was found to generate H2 gas with the concomitant formation of a passivating boron layer on the surface of the Rh metal, thereby acting as a poison and rendering the catalyst inactive toward the dehydrocoupling of Me2NH.BH3. Analogous poisoning effects were also detected for (i) colloidal Rh treated with other species containing B-H bonds such as [HB-NH]3, or Ga-H bonds such as those present in GaH3.OEt2, (ii) colloidal Rh that was generated from Rh(I) and Rh(III) salts using borane or borohydrides as reductants, and (iii) for other metals such as Ru and Pd. In contrast, analogous poisoning effects were not detected for the catalytic hydrogenation of cyclohexene using Rh/Al2O3 or the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling of PhB(OH)2 and PhI. These results suggest that although this poisoning behavior is not a universal phenomenon, the observation that such boron layers are formed and surface passivation may exist needs to be carefully considered when borane reagents are used for the generation of metal colloids for catalytic or materials science applications.

Highly metallized polymers: synthesis, characterization, and lithographic patterning of polyferrocenylsilanes with pendant cobalt, molybdenum, and nickel cluster substituents.

High molecular weight, soluble, air- and moisture-stable, highly metallized (>25 wt% metal) polyferrocenylsilanes (PFS) [Fe(eta-C5H4)2Si(Me){Co2(CO)6C2Ph}]n (Co-PFS), [Fe(eta-C5H4)2Si(Me){Mo2-Cp2(CO)4C2Ph}]n (Mo-PFS), and [Fe(eta-C5H4)2Si(Me){Ni2Cp2C2Ph}]n (Ni-PFS) containing pendant cobalt, molybdenum, and nickel clusters, respectively, have been prepared via macromolecular clusterization of an acetylide-substituted PFS [Fe(eta-C5H4)2Si(Me)C(triple bond)CPh]n with [Co(2)(CO)8], [{MoCp(CO)(2)}2], or [{NiCp(CO)}2]. The extent of clusterization achieved was in the range of 70-75%. All three highly metallized polymers were demonstrated to function as negative-tone resists in electron-beam lithography, while Co-PFS and Mo-PFS were successfully patterned by UV-photolithography, allowing the fabrication of micron-sized bars, dots, and lines. These studies suggest that the highly metallized polymers may be useful in the fabrication of patterned arrays of alloy nanoparticles for both materials science and catalytic applications.

UV photopatterning of a highly metallized, cluster-containing poly(ferrocenylsilane).

Thin films of a cobalt-clusterized poly(ferrocenylsilane) have been shown to behave as a negative-tone resist for UV photolithography, allowing access to feature sizes between 20 and 300 microm. Pyrolysis of the patterned polymer at 900 degrees C under a N(2) atmosphere afforded patterned ferromagnetic ceramics with excellent shape retention.