Surface chemistry of materials deposition at atomic layer level

Structures in modern semiconductor devices are getting smaller and smaller, coming close to atomic dimensions. The demand for materials processing at atomic layer level can be approached from extreme process control or from delicate utilization of surface chemistry. The opportunity in the surface chemistry approach is to create conditions for monoatomic layer buildup through saturated surface reactions. Material layer processing through sequentially performed saturated surface reactions is generally referred to as atomic layer epitaxy (ALE). ALE has been successfully applied in commercial manufacturing of thin film electroluminescent displays. Also, extensive scientific work has been done for applying atomic layer controlled growth of epitaxial layers and superlattice structures of III–V and II–VI semiconductors. Surface controlled build-up of molecular structures has recently been applied to porous supports for heterogeneous catalysts. For further progress in atomic layer level controlled materials processing well understood surface chemistry is of major importance.