Numerical study on the fluid dynamical aspects of atomic layer deposition process

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics investigations on the mixing process of gases inside an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor are carried out. A test case involving a real ALD reactor geometry is investigated under nonreacting, incompressible flow assumption. The relatively low Reynolds number (Re) of the test reactor, often being in the laminar regime, advocates the usage of scaleresolving simulations. The authors investigate mixing of two precursors in two different injection configurations for 40 < Re < 2400. The feasibility of the approach is shown and discussed. The results illustrate how both Reynolds number and injection configurations influence the precursor distribution in the ALD reactor. The authors also carry out a set of experiments in the same ALD reactor and discuss them in light of the simulations.

Investigation of the initial deposition steps and the interfacial layer of Atomic Layer Deposited (ALD) Al2O3 on Si

“…Al2O3 is a favor-able candidate to replace SiO2 as a dielectric layer as it has a higher dielectric constant and has a similar band gap [4]. A great number of works has been published on this ALD process, dealing with the de-position process [5][6][7], reaction mechanisms [8][9][10], reaction kinetics [11][12][13], as well as the ALD reactor dynamics [13][14][15].…”

Detailed investigation of the surface mechanisms and their interplay with transport phenomena in alumina atomic layer deposition from TMA and water

“…Using this model, the reactor scale up and process optimization were studied. Pan et al (2015) studied the effect of the position of the sample inside the reactor, while Peltonen et al (2018) studied the flow during ALD process, correlating the film uniformity with fluid dynamical aspects. Shaeri et al (2014) studied the effect of reactor design on the reaction rates and the uniformity of the deposition rate at certain snapshots during alumina ALD.…”

Ιn situ N2-NH3 plasma pre-treatment of silicon substrate enhances the initial growth and restricts the substrate oxidation during alumina ALD

“…The deposition of Al2O3 films, using trimethyl aluminum (Al(CH3)3, TMA) and H2O vapor as metal precursor and oxidant source, respectively, 3 is one of the most studied ALD processes. Works published on this ALD process revealed important aspects of the deposition process [5][6][7] , reaction mechanisms [8][9][10][11] , reaction kinetics 12,13 , as well as the ALD reactor dynamics [13][14][15] . However, despite the numerous studies available, uncontrolled phenomena still occur in this process.…”