Influence of surface temperature on the mechanism of atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide using an oxygen plasma and ozone.

We have examined the role of substrate temperature on the surface reaction mechanisms during the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al(2)O(3) from trimethyl aluminum (TMA) in combination with an O(2) plasma and O(3) over a substrate temperature range of 70-200 °C. The ligand-exchange reactions were investigated using in situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Consistent with our previous work on ALD of Al(2)O(3) from an O(2) plasma and O(3) [Rai, V. R.; Vandalon, V.; Agarwal, S. Langmuir 2010, 26, 13732], both -OH groups and carbonates were the chemisorption sites for TMA over the entire temperature range explored. The concentration of surface -CH(3) groups after the TMA cycle was, however, strongly dependent on the surface temperature and the type of oxidizer, which in turn influenced the corresponding growth per cycle. The combustion of surface -CH(3) ligands was not complete at 70 °C during O(3) exposure, indicating that an O(2) plasma is a relatively stronger oxidizing agent. Further, in O(3)-assisted ALD, the ratio of mono- and bidentate carbonates on the surface after O(3) exposure was dependent on the substrate temperature.