Thermal evolution characterizatics of atomic layer deposition prepared TiO2 interfacial layer by synchrotron...

TiO2 thin film prepared by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) with supplies of Ti(O-i-Pr)4 and H2O have been analyzed using the difference X-ray reflectivity (DXRR). The thickness of buried interfacial layer (IL) embedded in between Si-substrate and TiO2 layer was characterized as a function of temperatures of 20, 300, and 500 degrees C mounted on an in-situ hot stage The growth rate of TiO2 film was estimated to be 0.5 nm/cycle at the temperature of 150 degrees C. It was identified that the interfacial layer of the treated thin film was disappeared at a certain temperature rise. Furthermore, we found that the crystalline structure of TiO2 film was varied depending on not only the growth temperature but also the post thermal treatment of the samples. Since the synchrotron radiation X-ray scattering measurement allow us to investigate the atomic structure evolution in the range of a few nanometer thick, nondestructively, in this letter we report its characteristics of the thermal evolution of the TiO2 interfacial layer that is the crucial step for progress in microelectronics and nanotechnology.