Selective electroless electrochemical atomic layer deposition in aqueous solution without external voltage bias

Abstract

A method of performing electroless electrochemical atomic layer deposition is provided and includes the steps: providing a substrate including an exposed upper metal layer; exposing the substrate to afirst precursor solution to create a sacrificial metal monolayer on the exposed upper metal layer via underpotential deposition, where the first precursor solution is an aqueous solution including areducing agent; subsequent to the forming of the sacrificial metal monolayer, rinsing the substrate; subsequent to the rinsing of the substrate, exposing the substrate to a second precursor solution to replace the sacrificial metal monolayer with a first deposition layer; and subsequent to replacing the sacrificial metal monolayer with the first deposition layer, rinsing the substrate. The exposure of the substrate to the first precursor solution and the exposure of the substrate to the second precursor solution are electroless processes.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 054,428, filed August 3, 2018, and also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 545,180, filed August 14, 2017. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. technical field [0003] The present disclosure relates to substrate processing systems, and more particularly, to substrate processing systems for selectively performing electroless electrochemical atomic layer deposition (electroless e-ALD) in an aqueous environment without providing an external voltage bias. Background technique [0004] The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. The work of the presently identified inventors described in this Background section and in aspects not identified as prior art at the time of filing of the application is neither expressly nor ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, chemical deposition lacks atomic-level thickness control, one of the key advantages of ALD

Additionally, the deposition of noble metals such as ruthenium (Ru) and platinum (Pt) using ALD is challenging

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