1. Low-temperature atomic layer deposition of indium oxide thin films using trimethylindium and oxygen plasma
- Author
-
Franziska Naumann, Karsten Henkel, Jan Ingo Flege, Robert Meyer, Małgorzata Kot, Paul Plate, Marvin Hartwig Zoellner, Ali Mahmoodinezhad, Christoph Janowitz, Christian Wenger, and Carlos Morales
- Subjects
Materials science ,Analytical chemistry ,Oxide ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Surfaces and Interfaces ,Substrate (electronics) ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,law.invention ,Atomic layer deposition ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ,chemistry ,law ,Thin film ,Crystallization ,Trimethylindium ,Indium - Abstract
Indium oxide (InxOy) thin films were deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) using trimethylindium and oxygen plasma in a low-temperature range of 80–200 °C. The optical properties, chemical composition, crystallographic structure, and electrical characteristics of these layers were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), as well as current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements. The SE results yielded a nearly constant growth rate of 0.56 A per cycle and a thickness inhomogeneity of ≤1.2% across 4-in. substrates in the temperature range of 100–150 °C. The refractive index (at 632.8 nm) was found to be 2.07 for the films deposited at 150 °C. The PEALD-InxOy layers exhibit a direct (3.3 ± 0.2 eV) and an indirect (2.8 ± 0.1 eV) bandgap with an uptrend for both with increasing substrate temperature. Based on XPS characterization, all InxOy samples are free of carbon impurities and show a temperature-dependent off-stoichiometry indicating oxygen vacancies. XRD diffraction patterns demonstrate an onset of crystallization at 150 °C. Consistent with the optical, XPS, and XRD data, the films deposited at ≥150 °C possess higher electrical conductivity. Our findings prove that a low-temperature PEALD process of InxOy is feasible and promising for a high-quality thin-film deposition without chemical impurities on thermally fragile substrates.
- Published
- 2021