• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.295-300
• /
• 2017

Aluminum-oxide($Al_2O_3$) thin films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition at room temperature using trimethylaluminum(TMA) as the Al source and $O_2$ plasma as the oxidant. In order to compare our results with those obtained using the conventional thermal ALD method, $Al_2O_3$ films were also deposited with TMA and $H_2O$ as reactants at $280^{\circ}C$. The chemical composition and microstructure of the as-deposited $Al_2O_3$ films were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photo-electric spectroscopy(XPS), atomic force microscopy(AFM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Optical properties of the $Al_2O_3$ films were characterized using UV-vis and ellipsometry measurements. Electrical properties were characterized by capacitance-frequency and current-voltage measurements. Using the ECR method, a growth rate of 0.18 nm/cycle was achieved, which is much higher than the growth rate of 0.14 nm/cycle obtained using thermal ALD. Excellent dielectric and insulating properties were demonstrated for both $Al_2O_3$ films.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.22.2-22.2
• /
• 2008

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.02a
• /
• pp.457-457
• /
• 2010

Flexible organic light emitting diodes (F-OLEDs) requires excellent moisture permeation barriers to minimize the degradation of the F-OLEDs device. Specifically, F-OLEDs device need a barrier layer that transmits less than $10^{-6}g/m^2/day$ of water and $10^{-5}g/m^2/day$ of oxygen. To increase the life time of F-OLEDs, therefore, it is indispensable to protect the organic materials from water and oxygen. Severe groups have reported on multi-layerd barriers consisting inorganic thin films deposited by plasma enhenced chemical deposition (PECVD) or sputtering. However, it is difficult to control the formation of granular-type morphology and microscopic pinholes in PECVD and sputtering. On the contrary, atomic layer deoposition (ALD) is free of pinhole, highly uniform, conformal films and show good step coverage. Thus, $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ multi-layer was deposited onto the polyethersulfon (PES) substrate by electron cyclotron resonance atomic layer deposition (ECR-ALD), and the water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) were measured. WVTR of moisture permeation barriers is dependent upon density of films and initial state of polymer surface. A significant reduction of WVTR was achieved by increasing density of films and by applying low plasma induced interlayer on the PES substrate. In order to minimize damage of polymer surface, a 10 nm thick $TiO_2$ was deposited on PES prior to a $Al_2O_3$ ECR-ALD process. High quality barriers were developed from $Al_2O_3$ barriers on the $TiO_2$ interlayer. WVTR of $Al_2O_3$ by introducing $TiO_2$ interlayer was recorded in the range of $10^{-3}g/m^2.day$ at $38^{\circ}C$ and 100% relative humidity using a MOCON instrument. The WVTR was two orders of magnitude smaller than $Al_2O_3$ barriers directly grown on PES substrate without the $TiO_2$ interlayer. Thus, we can consider that the $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ multi-layer passivation can be one of the most suitable F-OLEDs passivation films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2005.07a
• /
• pp.153-156
• /
• 2005

원자층 증착 (atomic layer deposit : ALD) 방식으로 증착한 $Al_2O_3$의 건식식각 특성을 연구하였다. 전자 싸이클로트론 공진 (electron cyclotron resonance : ECR) 방식의 건식식각장치에서 source power, bias power, 압력 그리고 $Cl_2$ 가스를 변수로 하여 $Al_2O_3$의 식각속도와 Poly-Si 의 $Al_2O_3$에 대한 선택비를 측정하였다. bias power가 감소할수록 그리고 압력이 증가할수록 $Al_2O_3$의 식각속도는 감소하였고 Poly-Si 의 $Al_2O_3$에 대한 선택비는 증가하였다. 이 특성을 이용하여 TiN/$Al_2O_3$/Poly-Si 구조의 캐패시터와 Periphery 회로영역의 레지스터를 $Al_2O_3$를 식각 정지막으로 이용하여 구현하였다.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2012.05a
• /
• pp.110.1-110.1
• /
• 2012

Recently, advances in ZnO based oxide semiconductor materials have accelerated the development of thin-film transistors (TFTs), which are the building blocks for active matrix flat-panel displays including liquid crystal displays (LCD) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). However, the electrical performances of oxide semiconductors are significantly affected by interactions with the ambient atmosphere. Jeong et al. reported that the channel of the IGZO-TFT is very sensitive to water vapor adsorption. Thus, water vapor passivation layers are necessary for long-term current stability in the operation of the oxide-based TFTs. In the present work, $Al_2O_3$ and $TiO_2$ thin films were deposited on poly ether sulfon (PES) and $SnO_x$-based TFTs by electron cyclotron resonance atomic layer deposition (ECR-ALD). And enhancing the WVTR (water vapor transmission rate) characteristics, barrier layer structure was modified to $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ layered structure. For example, $Al_2O_3$, $TiO_2$ single layer, $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ double layer and $Al_2O_3/TiO_2/Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ multilayer were studied for enhancement of water vapor barrier properties. After thin film water vapor barrier deposited on PES substrate and $SnO_x$-based TFT, thin film permeation characteristics were three orders of magnitude smaller than that without water vapor barrier layer of PES substrate, stability of $SnO_x$-based TFT devices were significantly improved. Therefore, the results indicate that $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ water vapor barrier layers are highly proper for use as a passivation layer in $SnO_x$-based TFT devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.02a
• /
• pp.180-180
• /
• 2010

Thin film transistors (TFTs) based on oxide semiconductors have emerged as a promising technology, particularly for active-matrix TFT-based backplanes. Currently, an amorphous oxide semiconductor, such as InGaZnO, has been adopted as the channel layer due to its higher electron mobility. However, accurate and repeatable control of this complex material in mass production is not easy. Therefore, simpler polycrystalline materials, such as ZnO and $SnO_2$, remain possible candidates as the channel layer. Inparticular, ZnO-based TFTs have attracted considerable attention, because of their superior properties that include wide bandgap (3.37eV), transparency, and high field effect mobility when compared with conventional amorphous silicon and polycrystalline silicon TFTs. There are some technical challenges to overcome to achieve manufacturability of ZnO-based TFTs. One of the problems, the stability of ZnO-based TFTs, is as yet unsolved since ZnO-based TFTs usually contain defects in the ZnO channel layer and deep level defects in the channel/dielectric interface that cause problems in device operation. The quality of the interface between the channel and dielectric plays a crucial role in transistor performance, and several insulators have been reported that reduce the number of defects in the channel and the interfacial charge trap defects. Additionally, ZnO TFTs using a high quality interface fabricated by a two step atomic layer deposition (ALD) process showed improvement in device performance In this study, we report the fabrication of high performance ZnO TFTs with a $Si_3N_4$ gate insulator treated using plasma. The interface treatment using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) $O_2$ plasma improves the interface quality by lowering the interface trap density. This process can be easily adapted for industrial applications because the device structure and fabrication process in this paper are compatible with those of a-Si TFTs.