Patent ID: 7399357

Claim:
A process of growing a thin film on a substrate in a reaction chamber by an atomic layer deposition process comprising a plurality of cycles, wherein at least one cycle comprises, in sequence: exposing the substrate to a gaseous first reactant, including an element of the thin film to be formed, wherein at least a portion of the first reactant adsorbs on the substrate; stopping provision of the gaseous first reactant and removing substantially all of the gaseous first reactant from the volume of the reaction chamber; exposing the substrate, coated with at least a portion of the first reactant, to a gaseous second reactant, wherein at least a portion of the second reactant adsorbs on the substrate without chemically reacting with the first reactant, thereby forming a multilayer of the first reactant and the second reactant; stopping provision of the gaseous second reactant and removing substantially all of the gaseous second reactant from the volume of the reaction chamber; exposing the substrate, coated with the multilayer of first and second reactants, to a gaseous third reactant of radicals, wherein the radicals cause a chemical reaction which converts the multilayer to one or more elements or compounds, wherein a thin film is formed; and stopping provision of the gaseous third reactant of radicals, and removing the gaseous third reactant of radicals, as well as any reaction products, from the reaction chamber; wherein one of the gaseous reactants comprises trimethyl aluminum, the second gaseous reactant comprises water vapor, and the gaseous radicals are electronically excited noble gas atoms that convert the multilayer of trimethyl aluminum and water vapor to a thin film of aluminum oxide.