Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition Using Chemisorbed Carboxylate Inhibitors

计算机芯片制造是移动计算、云计算、第五代(5G)蜂窝网络技术、人工智能等应用的基础。制造计算芯片现在需要能够在基板上放置材料的能力，在成分、空间位置和尺寸上具有前所未有的精度。然而，这种制造能力的发展仍处于早期阶段，需要新的使能知识。该奖项支持基础研究，为原子规模加法制造的发展创造知识。这一新工艺使制造具有原子精确控制的材料系统的可扩展方法成为可能。这种材料系统还可能带来新的机会，如环境友好型制造和污染控制的新催化剂。这项研究的结果产生了有用的高性能材料和新知识，以加速开发新的芯片制造工艺，从而推动科学进步，帮助美国保持其在先进制造领域的领先地位。这项研究是跨学科的，培养学生在制造、真空技术、表面化学、材料科学和分析化学方面的技能。该项目涉及让学生，特别是妇女和代表性不足的少数群体参与研究，从而改善工程教育。面积选择性原子层沉积(ALD)技术是降低功能器件尺寸、降低集成电路制造复杂度和成本、降低计算芯片能耗的关键技术。然而，这项技术的潜力受到选择性生长化学选择的狭窄以及对表面化学对ALD成核选择性的不均一性的缺乏了解的严重限制。本研究旨在建立选择性化学吸附的羧酸盐自组装单分子膜(SAM)作为阻断剂，以阻断或抑制ALD过程中的成核。本研究填补了在ALD过程中对抑制机制的认识空白和抑制剂阻止成核能力的逐渐丧失，最终导致了改进抑制剂阻止成核的新策略。合作小组通过研究羧酸盐的形成和ALD化学成核的选择性，使用基材质量和化学的原位表征，以及气态副产品，并使用非原位原子力显微镜-红外(AFM-IR)光谱来检测表面化学的异质性，并建立化学-工艺参数-成核抑制的关系，从而实现了这些目标。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Computer chip manufacturing is the foundation for mobile computing, cloud computing, fifth generation (5G) cellular network technology, artificial intelligence and other applications. Manufacturing computing chips now demands the capability that can place materials on substrates with unprecedented precision in composition, spatial location and dimensions. However, development of such manufacturing capability is still in early stages and demands new enabling knowledge. This award supports fundamental research to generate knowledge for the development of atomic-scale additive manufacturing. This new process enables a scalable method of manufacturing material systems with atomic precise control. Such material systems could also lead to new opportunities such as new catalysts for environmentally-friendly manufacturing and pollution control. The results from this research lead to production of useful, high performance materials and new knowledge to accelerate the development of a novel chip manufacturing process, thus promoting the progress of science and helping the U.S. sustain its leading role in advanced manufacturing. This research is cross-disciplinary and trains students in skills in manufacturing, vacuum technology, surface chemistry, materials science and analytical chemistry. The project involves engaging students, especially, women and underrepresented minorities in research, thus improving engineering education. Area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a key enabling technology to reduce functional device dimensions, reduce manufacturing complexity and cost for integrated circuits and reduce the energy consumption by computing chips. However, the potential of this technology is severely limited by the narrow choices of selective growth chemistries, as well as poor understanding of the heterogeneity of surface chemistry on the selectivity of nucleation in ALD. This research aims at establishing selectively-chemisorbed carboxylate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as inhibitors to block or inhibit nucleation during ALD. This research fills the knowledge gap of the inhibition mechanisms and the gradual loss of the inhibitor's ability in blocking nucleation during ALD, and eventually leads to new strategies to improve the inhibitor in blocking nucleation. The collaborative team achieves these goals by studying the formation of carboxylates and selectivity of the nucleation of ALD chemistries with in situ characterizations of the substrate's mass and chemistry, and gaseous byproducts, and with ex situ atomic force microscope-infrared (AFM-IR) spectroscopy to exam the heterogeneity of surface chemistries and establish the relationship of chemistry-process parameter-nucleation inhibition.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.