Patent ID: 8030212

Claim:
An atomic-layer-deposition process for forming a patterned thin film comprising: (a) providing a substrate; (b) applying a composition comprising a deposition inhibitor material to the substrate, wherein the deposition inhibitor material is an organic compound or a polymer, which polymer may be optionally crosslinked; (c) patterning the deposition inhibitor material either after step (b) or simultaneously with applying the deposition inhibitor material to provide selected areas of the substrate effectively not having the deposition inhibitor material; (d) depositing an inorganic thin film on the substrate, comprising simultaneously directing a series of gas flows along substantially parallel elongated output channels in a delivery head, wherein the series of gas flows comprises, in order, at least a first reactive gaseous material, an inert purge gas, and a second reactive gaseous material, optionally repeated a plurality of times, wherein the first reactive gaseous material is capable of reacting with a substrate surface treated with the second reactive gaseous material to form the inorganic thin film, wherein the first reactive gaseous material is a volatile organo-metallic precursor compound; wherein the process is carried out substantially at or above atmospheric pressure while the temperature of the substrate during deposition is under 300° C., wherein the inorganic thin film is substantially deposited only in the selected areas of the substrate effectively not having the deposition inhibitor material, wherein one or more of the first and second gaseous materials and the inert purge gas, when simultaneously supplied to and exhausted from the substrate surface, create a gas fluid bearing that maintains a substantially uniform distance between the output face of the delivery hand and the substrate surface during thin-film material deposition, and wherein depositing the thin inorganic film is carried out with relative motion between the substrate and the delivery head.