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Competitive co-diffusion as a route to enhanced step coverage in chemical vapor deposition

Author

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  • Arun Haridas Choolakkal

    (Linköping University)

  • Pentti Niiranen

    (Linköping University)

  • Samira Dorri

    (Linköping University)

  • Jens Birch

    (Linköping University)

  • Henrik Pedersen

    (Linköping University)

Abstract

Semiconductor devices are constructed from stacks of materials with different electrical properties, making deposition of thin layers central in producing semiconductor chips. The shrinking of electronics has resulted in complex device architectures which require deposition into holes and recessed features. A key parameter for such deposition is the step coverage (SC), which is the ratio of the thickness of material at the bottom and at the top. Here, we show that adding a co-flow of a heavy inert gas affords a higher SC for deposition by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). By adding a co-flow of Xe to a CVD process for boron carbide using a single source precursor with a lower molecular mass than the atomic mass of Xe, the SC increased from 0.71 to 0.97 in a 10:1 aspect ratio feature. The concept was further validated by a longer deposition depth in lateral high aspect ratio structures. We suggest that competitive co-diffusion is a general route to conformal CVD.

Suggested Citation

  • Arun Haridas Choolakkal & Pentti Niiranen & Samira Dorri & Jens Birch & Henrik Pedersen, 2024. "Competitive co-diffusion as a route to enhanced step coverage in chemical vapor deposition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-55007-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55007-1
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