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Atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Ta-doped SnO 2 thin films is proposed as a methodology for the fabrication of capacitor electrodes, for application in dynamic random-access memories (DRAMs). In ALD of doped materials, dopant concentration gradients inevitably occur due to the cyclic process-based characteristics of ALD. In this study, the dopant distribution improves drastically by the decrease in the growth per cycle of TaO x ALD. The modified ALD recipe exploits the low reactivity between Ta and Sn precursors to facilitate a reduction in the growth per cycle. The Ta-doped SnO 2 films grown based on this modified ALD recipe exhibit improved crystallinity and conductivity. The ALD process yields excellent conformality of the Ta-doped SnO 2 film over a hole structure with a high aspect ratio of ~10, both in terms of physical thickness and composition. Additionally, the Ta-doped SnO 2 films serve as a template for the overgrowing dielectric TiO 2 film, which induces the formation of a high-temperature phase with a high dielectric constant, rutile TiO 2 , and exhibit excellent thermal stability even after annealing at 400 °C in forming gas atmosphere. These findings demonstrate that the proposed methodology for the growth of Ta-doped SnO 2 can facilitate the fabrication of capacitor electrodes for application in DRAMs. Unlabelled Image • A new ALD process of Ta-doped SnO 2 films is demonstrated. • Potential applications include use as reduction-resistant capacitor electrode. • Dopant distribution improves by decrease in the growth per cycle of TaO x ALD. • Films reveal ease of formation of high-k rutile TiO 2 and excellent thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface sulfur (S) passivation on InP substrate was performed using a dry process – rapid thermal annealing under H 2 S atmosphere for III–V compound-semiconductor-based devices. The electrical properties of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor fabricated with atomic-layer-deposited HfO 2 film as a gate insulator were examined, and were compared with the similar devices with S passivation using a wet process – (NH 4 ) 2 S solution treatment. The H 2 S annealing provided solid S passivation with the strong resistance against oxidation compared with the (NH 4 ) 2 S solution treatment, although S profiles at the interface of HfO 2 /InP were similar. The decrease in electrical thickness of the gate insulator by S passivation was similar for both methods. However, the H 2 S annealing was more effective to suppress interface state density near the valence band edge, because thermal energy during the annealing resulted in stronger S bonding and InP surface reconstruction. Moreover, the flatband voltage shift by constant voltage stress was lower for the device with H 2 S annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic-layer-deposited Al 2 O 3 films were grown on ultrathin-body In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As substrates for III-V compound-semiconductor-based devices. Interface sulfur (S) passivation was performed with wet processing using ammonium sulfide ((NH 4 ) 2 S) solution, and dry processing using post-deposition annealing (PDA) under a H 2 S atmosphere. The PDA under the H 2 S atmosphere resulted in a lower S concentration at the interface and a thicker interfacial layer than the case with (NH 4 ) 2 S wet-treatment. The electrical properties of the device, including the interface property estimated through frequency dispersion in capacitance, were better for (NH 4 ) 2 S wet-treatment than the PDA under a H 2 S atmosphere. They might be improved, however, by optimizing the process conditions of PDA. The PDA under a H 2 S atmosphere following (NH 4 ) 2 S wet-treatment resulted in an increased S concentration at the interface, which improved the electrical properties of the devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Atomic-layer-deposited HfO2 films grown at extremely low temperatures (≤100°C) were examined. [•] Growth saturation behavior of ALD was observed near to room temperatures. [•] Effects of growth temperatures and O3 concentrations on film properties are reported in detail. [•] Grown HfO2 films exhibited acceptable properties for flexible display and bio-electronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ru thin films were grown on polymorphic TiO2 thin film substrates at 230 and 250°C by atomic layer deposition using 2,4-(dimethylpentadienyl)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)Ru and an O2 gas. While the Ru films grown on amorphous and rutile TiO2 substrates showed a relatively long incubation cycle number of approximately 350 and 100 at 230 and 250°C, respectively, the Ru films grown on anatase TiO2 substrates exhibited a significantly shorter incubation delay which was attributed to the catalytic activity of anatase TiO2. This difference in the incubation cycle affected the surface morphology of the Ru films on different TiO2 substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• BeO 6 octahedra, a highly metastable local structure, are stabilized by ALD. • An isostructural matrix demonstrates stabilization of highly metastable BeO 6 octahedra. • Be x Mg 1-x O films exhibit almost doubled k with the presence of BeO 6 octahedra. An atomic structure is widely recognized as the key that determines the physical properties of a material. A critical challenge to engineer the atomic structure is that many useful crystals are metastable under ambient conditions and difficult to realize. Here, it is demonstrated that highly metastable atomic arrangements can be synthesized in the isostructural matrix via atomic layer deposition. Studying highly metastable BeO 6 octahedra in rocksalt MgO as a model system, it is experimentally and theoretically shown that the single-phase Be x Mg 1-x O thin films adopt rocksalt structure over wurtzite for the composition range x < 0.21. The single-phase rocksalt films exhibit almost doubled dielectric constants with the presence of BeO 6 octahedra. Such atomic environment engineering may create intriguing properties that have not been realized in the constituent materials. This work provides excellent opportunities to explore unprecedented materials properties via engineering metastable atomic arrangements using the isostructural matrix approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalyst-free growth of the GaAs nanowire is based on preferential one-dimensional growth along the <111>B direction of the zinc-blende-structure GaAs, which originates from the formation of facets depending on the temperature and pressure. However, the driving force for preferential growth has yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, the adsorption-desorption behavior for several low-index surfaces was investigated in terms of temperature, pressure, and surface reconstruction using ab-initio thermodynamics. It was found that the As adsorption on the (111)B surface is highly favorable compared to that on the other surfaces under the experimental conditions, where the growth of the GaAs nanowires was successful without catalyst. Based on the thorough calculations and a comparison of the results with those of previous experiments, the driving force behind the preferential one-dimensional growth along the <111>B direction is confirmed to be the preferential adsorption of As on the (111)B surface under the specific temperature and pressure condition. In particular, the Ga-vacancy α(2×2) reconstruction of the (111)B surface, which was calculated to be stable at high temperature, is identified to provide the preferential adsorption sites for the incoming vapor sources. Unlabelled Image • Stable reconstruction of GaAs (111)B changes depending on temperature and pressure. • Ga adsorption on (111)B is favorable under all temperature and pressure considered. • As adsorption on (111)B is favorable under specific temperature and pressure. • Preference of As adsorption on (111)B is not much affected by pre-adsorbed Ga. • As adsorption on (111)B is the limiting factor of GaAs <111>B nanowire growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]