Nanofabrication via Maskless Localized Atomic Layer Deposition of Patterned Nanoscale Metal Oxide Films

A modified open-air spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD) head is employed to fabricate complex oxide patterns on various substrates. The co-reactant being kept in the surrounding atmosphere, a simple injection head that consists of three concentric nozzles with only one precursor outlet has been designed. Easy and reversible modification in the diameter of the metal precursor outlet permits direct patterning with different lateral sizes. Maskless deposition of uniform and homogenous TiO2 and ZrO2 thin films is successfully demonstrated with a lateral resolution tuned from millimeters to hundred micrometers range while keeping the film thickness in the range of a few to hundreds of nanometers with a control at the nanoscale. This localized SALD approach, named LOCALD, also enables layer stacking and deposition on structured substrates.