In-situ synchrotron radiation x-ray scattering study on the initial structure of atomic layer deposition

Abstract

Due to the excellent conformality of ALD, it is not only adopted thin film, but also has been adopted for the fabrication of nanostructures. The surface reaction of ALD process is dependent on the substrate condition, thus the study on initial stage of ALD process is crucial to achieve controllable film growth. By the way, because of quite low scattering intensity of initial ultra thin layer, the high flux Synchrotron Radiation is needed. Synchrotron radiation x-ray scattering measurements allow us to investigate the atomic structure evolution of a few nanometer thickness films at the initial growth stage, nondestructively. Ru and TaN ALD films were grown. The thickness, roughness, and electron density were estimated by X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR) analysis. The island structures and its coverage also were estimated. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.