Premium
Excellent silicon surface passivation using dimethylaluminium chloride as Al source for atomic layer deposited Al 2 O 3
Author(s) -
Li Shuo,
Bao Yameng,
Laitinen Mikko,
Sajavaara Timo,
Putkonen Matti,
Savin Hele
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201431930
Subject(s) - passivation , aluminium , silicon , materials science , layer (electronics) , thermal stability , atomic layer deposition , chloride , chemical engineering , analytical chemistry (journal) , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering
We demonstrate that the surface passivation of crystalline silicon and thermal stability of atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 can be substantially improved by replacing the conventional aluminium precursor trimethylaluminium (TMA) with low‐cost dimethylaluminium chloride (DMACl). A film thickness as low as 6 nm is enough to result in a minority carrier lifetime above 1 ms after high temperature firing step. In addition, optimal ALD DMACl + H 2 O process temperature and the film growth rate are comparable to the conventional TMA‐based process. Thus, DMACl appears to be a potential alternative precursor for mass production with much lower chemical cost and yet excellent passivation performance.