Variable temperature and dose atomic layer deposition

Abstract

A variable temperature and/or reactant dose atomic layer deposition (VTD-ALD) process modulates ALD reactor conditions (e.g., temperature, flow rates, etc.) during growth of a film (e.g., metallic) on a wafer to produce different film properties a different film depths.

1 . A method, comprising: 
 establishing first atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions for depositing a film on a substrate;    growing at least one first monolayer of the film using the first ALD conditions, the first monolayer having first properties;    establishing subsequent ALD conditions for depositing the film; and    growing at least one subsequent monolayer of the film on the first monolayers using the subsequent ALD conditions.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein establishing first ALD conditions comprises establishing a first ALD reactor temperature.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein establishing subsequent ALD conditions comprises establishing at least one subsequent ALD reactor temperature different from the first ALD reactor temperature.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein establishing first ALD conditions comprises establishing a first reactant flow rate.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein establishing subsequent ALD conditions comprises establishing at least one subsequent reactant flow rate different from the first reactant flow rate.  
   
   
       6 . An article of manufacture, comprising: 
 a machine-accessible including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the operations comprising: 
 establishing first atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions for depositing a film on a substrate;  
 growing at least one first monolayer of the film using the first ALD conditions, the first monolayer having first properties;  
 establishing subsequent ALD conditions for depositing the film; and  
 growing at least one subsequent monolayer of the film on the first monolayer using the subsequent ALD conditions.  
   
   
   
       7 . The article of manufacture of  claim 6 , wherein the machine accessible medium further includes data that cause the machine to perform operations comprising establishing a first ALD reactor temperature.  
   
   
       8 . The article of manufacture of  claim 7 , wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data that cause the machine to perform operations comprising establishing at least one subsequent ALD reactor temperature different from the first ALD reactor temperature.  
   
   
       9 . The article of manufacture of  claim 6 , wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data that cause the machine to perform operations comprising establishing a first reactant flow rate.  
   
   
       10 . The article of manufacture of  claim 9 , wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data that cause the machine to perform operations comprising establishing at least one subsequent reactant flow rate different from the first reactant flow rate.  
   
   
       11 . An apparatus, comprising: 
 an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor; and    a controller coupled to the ALD reactor to establish first atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions for depositing a film on a substrate, to grow at least one first monolayer of the film on the substrate using the first ALD conditions, to establish at least one subsequent ALD condition for depositing the film, and to grow at least one subsequent monolayer of the film on the first monolayers using the subsequent ALD conditions.    
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further coupled to establish first and subsequent ALD conditions in an incremental manner.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further coupled to establish first and subsequent ALD conditions in a continuous manner.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is coupled to control the flow rate of a first reactant and a second reactant into the reactor.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the first reactant is an oxygen-based reactant.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the first reactant is a nitrogen-based reactant.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is coupled to control the temperature the reactor.  
   
   
       18 . An apparatus, comprising: 
 a substrate;    monolayer having at least one first electrical property, the layer having at least one subsequent monolayer disposed on the at least one first monolayer, the at least one subsequent monolayer having at least one subsequent electrical property different from the at least one subsequent first electrical property.    
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , further comprising a gate electrode disposed on the layer.  
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , further comprising first and second vertical sidewall dielectric spacers formed on first and second sides of the layer and first and second sides of the gate electrode, respectively.  
   
   
       21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , further comprising first and second shallow trench isolation (STI) regions formed in the substrate.  
   
   
       22 . A system, comprising: 
 a transponder comprising a substrate and a layer of material disposed on the substrate, the layer having at least one first monolayer in contact with the substrate, the at least one first monolayer having first electrical property, the layer having at least one subsequent monolayer disposed on the at least one first monolayer, the at least one subsequent monolayer having at least one subsequent electrical property different from the at least one first electrical property; and    an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) coupled to the transponder.    
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising a multiplexer coupled to the EDFA.  
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising an add-drop multiplexer coupled to the EDFA.