Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is an advanced deposition technique producing thin films of a variety of materials. ALD offers exceptional conformality on high-aspect ratio structures, thickness control at the Angstrom level, tunable film composition, as well as pin-hole free and low particle levels. There are five ALD equipment inside IEN cleanroom: Cambridge Nanotech Plasma ALD – Metal (left), Cambridge Nanotech Plasma ALD – Oxide (right), CtrLayer ALD1, CtrLayer ALD2, Veeco ALD. The two CtrLayer ALD can only run thermal process, but the other three can operate in plasma and thermal modes. The selection of a tool depends mostly on precursor availability, operation mode, and wafer / batch size. All tools can process up to 6” wafer, and Cambridge Nanotech Plasma ALD can run two 4” wafers at a time. The following tables list the film availability for each tool.

List of ALD Tools for Various Film Deposition Processes