Method of forming layers using atomic layer deposition

摘要

Nanocrystal structures formed using atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes are useful in the formation of integrated circuits such as memory devices. Rather than continuing the ALD process until a continuous layer is formed, the ALD process is halted prematurely to leave a discontinuous formation of nanocrystals which are then capped by a different material, thus forming a layer with a discontinuous portion and a bulk portion. Such nanocrystals can serve as charge-storage sites within the bulk portion, and the resulting structure can serve as a floating gate of a floating-gate memory cell. A floating gate may contain one or more layers of such nanocrystal structures.

主权项

1. A method of forming a layer, comprising:
depositing a first material using an atomic layer deposition process, wherein the atomic layer deposition process comprises using a particular set of precursors during one or more cycles of the atomic layer deposition process to define a nucleation density of the first material, and using a different set of precursors during subsequent cycles of the atomic layer deposition process; halting the atomic layer deposition process of the first material before the deposited first material forms a continuous layer; and forming a second material over the first material; wherein the second material is different than the first material.