Pan Dongqing, Lei Yu
Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632, USA.
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Apr 23;18(9):1918. doi: 10.3390/ma18091918.
The improvement in ALD growth rate has always been challenging due to its slow atomic-scale depositions. Although AlO ALD is one of the most widely used ALD processes, the effects of its process parameters on growth rate have not been systematically analyzed using statistical approaches. These statistical methods offer better efficiency and effectiveness compared to traditional techniques for studying complex processes like ALD. This paper presents a systematic investigation and optimization of four process parameters on growth rate of AlO ALD thin films using a full factorial design of experiments (DOE) approach. Statistical analysis revealed that deposition temperature is the only statistically significant factor in AlO ALD process, while argon gas flow rate, pulsing time and purging time are tested nonsignificant. Significant interactions were found between deposition temperature and purging time, and between pulsing time and purging time, with all other interactions being nonsignificant. Optimal process settings for higher deposition rate were identified: the temperature and gas flow rate are set at lower levels, while pulsing time and purging time are set at higher levels.
由于原子尺度沉积速度缓慢，提高原子层沉积（ALD）的生长速率一直具有挑战性。尽管氧化铝（AlO）ALD是应用最广泛的ALD工艺之一，但其工艺参数对生长速率的影响尚未使用统计方法进行系统分析。与研究ALD等复杂过程的传统技术相比，这些统计方法具有更高的效率和有效性。本文采用全因子实验设计（DOE）方法，对影响AlO ALD薄膜生长速率的四个工艺参数进行了系统研究和优化。统计分析表明，沉积温度是AlO ALD工艺中唯一具有统计学意义的因素，而氩气流量、脉冲时间和吹扫时间经测试无统计学意义。发现沉积温度与吹扫时间之间以及脉冲时间与吹扫时间之间存在显著相互作用，其他所有相互作用均无统计学意义。确定了实现更高沉积速率的最佳工艺设置：温度和气体流量设置为较低水平，而脉冲时间和吹扫时间设置为较高水平。
