原子層沉積製程設備對薄膜品質的影響

The influence of ALD process equipment on film quality

原子層沉積技術(atomic layer deposition, ALD)是當今半導體製程中非常重視的奈米超薄膜(ultrathin film)沉積技術。ALD製程技術具備精準厚度控制、大面積均勻成長與在高深寬比結構上均勻鍍膜的能力。為了得到高品質的薄膜，除了前驅物自身特性與製程參數設定外，ALD製程設備同樣扮演重要腳色。本文將介紹影響薄膜品質的設備因素，包含前驅物在製程過程中重疊與氣體流動分布不均，並介紹預防與後續處理方式。

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is one of the most important semiconductor processes for the deposition of nanoscale ultrathin films. ALD offers precise thickness accuracy, high uniformity over a large area and excellent step coverage (conformality) on nonplanar high-aspect-ratio structures. Beside the characteristic of precursor and process parameter, ALD process equipment also plays an important role in achieving high quality film deposition. In this article, we described the common equipment issues that affect film quality in ALD process, including precursor overlapping in delivery line and non-uniform gas distribution. The ways to prevent or solve these equipment issues were also described.