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Area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a technique that can be used for fabricating 3D structures with dimensions down to the nanoscale. A patterned resist, typically a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), directs film deposition through area-selective ALD, leading to lateral patterning. This article will describe the overall approach to area-selective ALD, introduce the process of atomic layer deposition, and discuss the development of monolayer ALD resists. We will describe the results of studies which show that monolayers with a high degree of packing and hydrophobicity perform best in blocking ALD, and that resistance against ALD can be used as a sensitive probe of SAM quality. We further describe patterning of the SAM through soft lithography, in particular microcontact printing (μCP), for the area-selective ALD process, and compare the area-selective ALD processes for HfO2 and Pt ALD. The powerful patterning capability of μCP and the flexibility of area-selective ALD for various materials can impact many potential applications, and studies applying this process to fuel cell devices and integrated circuits will be described.
Jiang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.