The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of SrO thin films from strontium bis(tri(isopropyl)cyclopentadienyl) (Sr-(C 5 i Pr 3 H 2 ) 2 ) and H 2 O was studied by using in situ real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE), ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD). It is found that with H 2 O as the oxidant, deposition temperature strongly affects film composition. At 250°C films consist of polycrystalline Sr(OH) 2 while at 350°Cpolycrystalline SrO is observed. The growth per cycle (GPC) is found to be sensitive not only to the crystalline phase (Sr(OH) 2 vs SrO) but also the crystalline orientation. For films prepared at high temperatures and subsequently cooled for continued growth at lower temperatures, an unusual transient growth per cycle (GPC) enhancement of over 160% for more than 100 cycles is observed. The enhancement is found to be related to the orientation of the Sr(OH) 2 phase, which is influenced by the underlying crystal texture of the substrate. Substrate nucleation effects were also observed for growth on SiO 2 /Si substrates. A Sr silicate layer with stoichiometry close to Sr 2 SiO 4 forms spontaneously during ALD growth and transiently enhances the GPC.
■ INTRODUCTIONAtomic layer deposition (ALD) has attracted much attention in thin film deposition due to its capability for accurate thickness control and superior conformal growth. 1 Challenges for ALD include nonideal nucleation and substrate effects often encountered at the interfaces between dissimilar materials. 2−4 These substrate effects are particularly problematic for the growth of more complicated materials like ternary systems because of the difficulty encountered in achieving steady, predictable growth. 5 The growth of metal oxides is one of the most extensively studied and promising areas for application of ALD. In particular, SrO ALD is used for the ALD of the ternary strontium titanate (STO), which is of major interest for use with high-density metal−insulator−metal (MIM) capacitors. 6,7 SrO is also of interest for the growth of epitaxial perovskite oxides on semiconductors where it acts as a buffer layer between the reactive semiconductor and metal oxide layers. 8−12 Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of strontium oxide (SrO) has been demonstrated to show nonideal growth characteristics, and properties such as ALD growth window and precursor decomposition temperatures are controversial. 3,6,13,14 The strong basicity of SrO makes ALD-grown SrO films chemically unstable if exposed to air (moisture and CO 2 ). Moreover, traces of Sr(OH) 2 were reported by Vehkamaki et al. in films deposited at 250°C. 13 For films grown at 300°C, crystalline SrO was demonstrated by Rahtu et al. with preferred (111) orientation. 15 At deposition temperatures higher than 300°C, whether the strontium precursor thermally decomposes is still an open question. For example, Rahtu et al. reported that the growth per cycle (GPC) did not saturate as a function of strontium precursor pulse time at 325°C. 3 However, usi...