Observing atomic layer deposition with scanning tunneling microscopy
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- As modern device requirements move toward smaller and more complex architectures, ultra-thin films are playing an increasingly important role in device design and necessitate new fabrication methods. One technique that has gained prominence is atomic layer deposition (ALD) due to its surface conformality and control of material thickness and composition. But to fabricate the thinnest possible films via ALD, it is necessary to understand the early, non-uniform stage of ALD known as the nucleation phase. Because of instrument limitations, major frontiers remain both in the systematic characterization of ALD nucleation and in the degree of control of the nucleation process. This dissertation describes the utilization of a new scientific instrument that combines a nanoscale fabrication technique---ALD---with a nanoscale characterization technique---scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)---in a single vacuum chamber. The instrument has the capability to monitor individual nanostructures in situ as they are grown with ALD, tracking changes in their physical and electronic structure as they develop. It can be used to monitor the natural growth of extremely thin ALD films with sub-nanometer resolution, providing information about materials which are candidates for thin film devices. In addition, new silicon based substrates have been developed that are ideally suited for STM observation during ALD. The combination of these novel substrates and the STM-ALD instrument will allow for study of the nucleation phase of a wide range of ALD chemistries relevant for modern devices.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Yemane, Yonas T |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Applied Physics. |
| Primary advisor | Mabuchi, Hideo |
| Primary advisor | Prinz, F. B |
| Thesis advisor | Mabuchi, Hideo |
| Thesis advisor | Prinz, F. B |
| Thesis advisor | Kenny, Thomas William |
| Advisor | Kenny, Thomas William |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Yonas T. Yemane. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Applied Physics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Yonas Tedla Yemane
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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