Thermal atomic layer deposition of Er2O3 films from a volatile, thermally stable enaminolate precursor

Thin films of Er2O3 films were grown by atomic layer deposition using the Er precursor tris(1-(dimethylamino)-3,3-dimethylbut-1-en-2-olate)erbium(III) (Er(L1)3), with water as the co-reactant. Saturative, self-limited growth was observed at a substrate temperature of 200 °C for pulse lengths of ≥4.0 s for Er(L1)3 and ≥0.2 s for water. An ALD window was observed from 175 to 225 °C with a growth rate of about 0.25 Å per cycle. Er2O3 films grown at 200 °C on Si(100) and SiO2 substrates with a thickness of 33 nm had root mean square surface roughnesses of 1.75 and 0.75 nm, respectively. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the films were composed of polycrystalline Er2O3 at all deposition temperatures on Si(100) and SiO2 substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed stoichiometric Er2O3, with carbon and nitrogen levels below the detection limits after argon ion sputtering to remove surface impurities. Transmission electron microscopy studies of Er2O3 film growth in nanoscale trenches (aspect ratio = 10) demonstrated conformal coverage.