Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Y
2O
3 thin films was investigated using Y(MeCp)
2(iPr-nPrAMD) precursor and H
2O reactant. The self-limiting reaction mechanism of ALD-Y
2O
3 thin films was confirmed at a growth temperature of 260 °C.
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Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Y
2O
3 thin films was investigated using Y(MeCp)
2(iPr-nPrAMD) precursor and H
2O reactant. The self-limiting reaction mechanism of ALD-Y
2O
3 thin films was confirmed at a growth temperature of 260 °C. And, the saturated growth rate was confirmed to be ~0.11 nm/cycle. Also, it was demonstrated that a wide ALD temperature window from 150 °C to 290 °C maintains a consistent growth rate. ALD-Y
2O
3 thin films were found to have a typical cubic polycrystalline structure, independent of growth temperature, which can be attributed to their stoichiometric composition of Y
2O
3, negligible carbon impurity, and high film density, analogous to the Y
2O
3 bulk. Even at a low growth temperature of 150 °C, ALD-Y
2O
3 exhibited a markedly lower plasma etching rate (~0.77 nm/min) than that (~4.6 nm/min) of ALD-Al
2O
3 when using RIE at a plasma power of 400 W with a mixed gas of Ar/CF
4/O
2. Furthermore, the growth temperature of Y
2O
3 thin films had minimal impact on the etching rate.
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