Applications of Molecular Vapor Deposition of Precursor Materials on Various Surfaces

In the micro- and nano-technology industry, use of precursor materials is an important intermediate step of forming adhesive layers in the production of micro-devices. Currently, chlorinated organic compounds are used as precursor materials on the surfaces of these devices to form the layers. A precursor material is deposited on the device by a gas-phase deposition method known as Molecular Vapor Deposition (MVD). This process is carried out in an isolated, vacuum chamber that minimizes contaminants and gives the ability to control the operating condition. During the deposition process, the chlorine-containing compound reacts with the silicon surface to produce hydrogen chloride and other by-products, which are hazardous to the equipment and the environment. To address this issue, various organic compounds are being tested for similar surface properties without generating any of the harmful by-products. These surfaces are then analyzed and measured for: thickness using ellipsometry, hydrophilic behavior using contact angle goniometry, surface roughness using atomic force microscopy, and chemical composition using attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The current compounds being tested are tetramethoxy orthosilicate, tris tert-butoxy silanol , and tetrakis dimethylaminosilane.