Characteristics of NiO films prepared by atomic layer deposition using bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)-Ni and O₂ plasma

Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) is well-known for fabricating conformal and uniform films with a well-controlled thickness at the atomic level over any type of supporting substrate. We prepared nickel oxide (NiO) thin films via PEALD using bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)-nickel ($Ni(EtCp)_2$) and $O_2$ plasma. To optimize the PEALD process, the effects of parameters such as the precursor pulsing time, purging time, $O_2$ plasma exposure time, and power were examined. The optimal PEALD process has a wide deposition-temperature range of $100-325^{\circ}C$ and a growth rate of $0.037{\pm}0.002nm$ per cycle. The NiO films deposited on a silicon substrate with a high aspect ratio exhibited excellent conformality and high linearity with respect to the number of PEALD cycles, without nucleation delay.