Deposition (CVD and PVD)

What is an advantage of plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD)?

  1. AHigh temperatures are required for deposition
  2. BThick films are obtained quickly in a single step
  3. CUsing highly reactive radicals allows deposition at lower temperatures than thermal ALD and broadens the range of usable materials
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Answer: C. Using highly reactive radicals allows deposition at lower temperatures than thermal ALD and broadens the range of usable materials

PEALD uses plasma in the reaction step to produce highly reactive radicals, so films can be deposited at lower temperatures than thermal ALD, which relies on heat alone. It can also be used with material combinations that do not react thermally. On the other hand, radicals have difficulty reaching the bottom of deep structures, so step coverage can be inferior to thermal ALD.

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More Deposition (CVD and PVD) questions

  1. In CVD equipment, which component supplies source gas uniformly over the wafer through many small holes?
  2. Which deposition method fills very narrow, deep trenches from the bottom with a flowable film and then solidifies it?
  3. What is generally done to increase the deposition rate in sputtering?
  4. For films of the same material, in what way are high-temperature thermal CVD films generally better than plasma CVD films?
  5. What is the approximate film thickness deposited in one ALD cycle?