Recent Progress in Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition

Abstract

With the semiconductor device becoming smaller and smaller, more problems have appeared in the top-down lithography since ancient times because of the limit of resolution and the difficulty of working procedure. Area-selective atomic layer deposition (as-ALD) appears as an important method to solve these problems and make fine patterns. This review summarizes three main practices of AS-ALD. The first one is the surface-directed process in the method without using inhibitor. This is the practice of using the original physical and chemical differences of the substrate to prevent nuclei from growing in places where they don’t want to grow, but only in specified places. The second method is to use the inhibitor. The shape characteristics, working principle, usable scenes and technical shortcomings of disturbing materials are described in detail here. The third type is based on superlattice-based area-selective ALD (SAS-ALD). It takes advantage of the lattice strain effect of two-dimensional transverse superlattice. Based on these, the important factors that determine selectivity are investigated in detail, and the main methods to improve selectivity are summarized. Finally, the application progress of AS-ALD in related fields is re-examined, and the research of basic engineering is linked with practical application scenarios.