Atomic Layer Deposition Beyond Thin Film Deposition Technology

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is well known as the most advanced coating technique so far due to its unique deposition characteristics, such as uniformity and 3D conformality. ALD is not limited to coating technologies alone; however, over the past few decades, it has been extended beyond coating technologies to address several bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry. This short review article provides a summary of previous studies published on various approaches to using ALD to overcome the technological challenges in Si device fabrication beyond, that is, ALD for multiple patterning, area-selective atomic layer deposition, atomic layer etching, and ALD for dry photoresist. The purpose of this review is to determine the existing trend in ALD for noncoating applications and to understand and provide a layout of what ALD can bring in the future. In addition, it helps in appreciating the potential of ALD in existing and future noncoating processes. Furthermore, this study provides a developing route for ALD in other noncoating applications in the semiconductor industry. It is believed this review would aid ALD researchers in its use in various noncoating processes in the future to extend Moore's law.