Enabling Advanced Devices With Atomic Layer Processes


Atomic layer deposition (ALD) used to be considered too slow to be of practical use in semiconductor manufacturing, but it has emerged as a critical tool for both transistor and interconnect fabrication at the most advanced nodes. ALD can be speeded up somewhat, but the real shift is the rising value of precise composition and thickness control at the most advanced nodes, which makes the ext... » read more

Performing Multiple, Simultaneous Depositions In A High-Throughput, Multiplexing ALD/MLD-Style Reactor


A technical paper titled “High throughput multiplexing reactor design for rapid screening of atomic/molecular layer deposition processes” was published by researchers at University of Washington. Abstract: "An approach is demonstrated for performing multiple, simultaneous depositions in a high-throughput, multiplexing atomic layer deposition/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD)-style reac... » read more

How To Fine-Tune Large-Area Molybdenum Disulfide Atomic Layer Deposition At 150°C


A technical paper titled "Toolbox of Advanced Atomic Layer Deposition Processes for Tailoring Large-Area MoS2 Thin Films at 150 °C" was published by researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Michigan, and University College Cork. Abstract: "Two-dimensional MoS2 is a promising material for applications, including electronics and electrocatalysis. However, scalable meth... » read more

Design of Selective Deposition Processes For Nanoscale Electronic Devices


A technical paper titled “Quantified Uniformity and Selectivity of TiO2 Films in 45-nm Half Pitch Patterns Using Area-Selective Deposition Supercycles” was published by researchers at IMEC, North Carolina State University, and KU Leuven. Abstract: "Area-selective deposition (ASD) shows great promise for sub-10 nm manufacturing in nanoelectronics, but significant challenges remain in scali... » read more

Research Bits: June 13


Converting heat to electricity Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado Boulder fabricated a device to boost the conversion of heat into electricity. The technique involves depositing hundreds of thousands of microscopic columns of gallium nitride atop a silicon wafer. Layers of silicon are then removed from the underside of the waf... » read more

ALD-Oxide Semiconductors: Summary, Benefits And Challenges


A technical paper titled "Atomic layer deposition for nanoscale oxide semiconductor thin film transistors: review and outlook" was published by researchers at Hanyang University. "In this review, to introduce ALD-oxide semiconductors, we provide: (a) a brief summary of the history and importance of ALD-based oxide semiconductors in industry, (b) a discussion of the benefits of ALD for oxide... » read more

Surface-Activated ALD For Room-Temperature Bonding of Al2O3


A new technical paper titled "Room-temperature bonding of Al2O3 thin films deposited using atomic layer deposition" was published by researchers at Kyushu University. Abstract "In this study, room-temperature wafer bonding of Al2O3 thin films on Si thermal oxide wafers, which were deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD), was realized using the surface-activated bonding (SAB) metho... » read more

Large Area Process For Atomically Thin 2D Semiconductor, Using Scalable ALD


A new technical paper titled "Large-area synthesis of high electrical performance MoS2  by a commercially scalable atomic layer deposition process" by researchers at the University of Southampton, LMU Munich, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Abstract: "This work demonstrates a large area process for atomically thin 2D semiconductors to unlock the technological upscale required... » read more

2D Semiconductor Materials Creep Toward Manufacturing


As transistors scale down, they need thinner channels to achieve adequate channel control. In silicon, though, surface roughness scattering degrades mobility, limiting the ultimate channel thickness to about 3nm. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoS2 and WSe2, are attractive in part because they avoid this limitation. With no out-of-plane dangling bonds and at... » read more

How Far Will Copper Interconnects Scale?


As leading chipmakers continue to scale finFETs — and soon nanosheet transistors — to ever-tighter pitches, the smallest metal lines eventually will become untenable using copper with its liner and barrier metals. What comes next, and when, is still to be determined. There are multiple options being explored, each with its own set of tradeoffs. Ever since IBM introduced the industry to c... » read more

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