| abstract |
An ALE system for performing a metal ALE process to etch a surface of a substrate includes a processing chamber, a substrate support, a heat source, a delivery system, and a controller. A substrate support is disposed within the processing chamber and supports the substrate. The delivery system supplies the ligand or organic species to the processing chamber. The controller is configured to: perform atomic adsorption and pulsed thermal annealing during iteration of the isotropic metal ALE process; during atomic adsorption, exposing the surface to a ligand or organic species, wherein the ligand or organic species is free of metal precursors and is selectively adsorbed to form a metal complex on the surface; and pulsing the heat source a plurality of times to remove the metal complex from the substrate during the pulsed thermal annealing, the transfer system and the heat source are controlled to perform an isotropic metal ALE process. |