Area-selective atomic layer deposition using an inductively coupled plasma polymerized fluorocarbon layer: A case study for metal oxides

Area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) has attracted immense attention in recent years for self-aligned accurate pattern placement with subnanometer thickness control. Here, we demonstrate a methodology to achieve AS-ALD by using inductively couple plasma (ICP) grown fluorocarbon polymer film as hydrophobic blocking layer for selective deposition. Our approach has been tested for metal-oxide materials including ZnO, Al2O3, and HfO2. Contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectroscopic ellipsometer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements were performed to investigate the blocking ability of plasma polymerized fluorocarbon layers against ALD-grown metal-oxide films. A considerable growth inhibition for ZnO has been observed on fluorocarbon coated Si(100) surfaces, while the same polymerized surface caused a relatively slow nucleation for HfO2 films. No growth selectivity was obtained for Al2O3 films, displaying almost the same nucleation behavior on Si and fluorocarbon surfaces. Thin film patterning has been demonstrated using this strategy by growing ZnO on lithographically patterned fluorocarbon/Si samples. High resolution SEM images and XPS line scan confirmed the successful patterning of ZnO up to a film thickness of ∼15 nm. © 2016 American Chemical Society.