Article

New Application Note - Elemental Nano-Volume Characterization of ALD Defect Particles

Elemental Nano-Volume Characterization of ALD Defect Particles

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atomic layer etching (ALE) are quickly becoming critical processes in semiconductor manufacturing. The stability and reliability of this process can be profoundly degraded by unwanted nucleation in “non-growth” regions. Knowledge of the defect composition is important information for designing a more selective ALD/ALE process. Here, Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) is used to chemically characterize such defect sites and therefore better understand the mechanism of selectivity loss during integrated ALD/ALE.