Atomic Layer Deposition of Antimony Telluride Thin Films Using (Me 3 Si) 2 Te with SbCl 3 as Precursors

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) growth of antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films has been investigated. We fabricated antimony telluride layers as a function of ALD deposition temperature in order to establish the ALD process window using (Me3Si)2Te with SbCl3 as chemical precursors. The initial ALD nucleation of antimony telluride was found to follow the Vollmer-Weber island growth model. We found a strong dependence of the nucleation process on the chemical nature of substrate. Substrates covered with silicon dioxide interfaces worked significantly better compared to bare Si substrates for Sb2Te3 ALD film deposition. We present SEM and AFM analysis of the resulting surface morphology of Sb2Te3, which is strongly influenced by the deposition temperature and recommend an ALD temperature window with optimized substrate surface coverage and improved Sb2Te3 surface texture.