Site-Selective Deposition and Micropatterning of Zirconia Thin Films on Templates of Self-Assembled Monolayers

Zirconia thin films were successfully micropatterned on octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-self-assembled monolayers (SAM) in ZrOCl2⋅8H2O-ethanol solution at room temperature. OTS-SAM was modified by UV-irradiation through a photomask to change into a SAM template patterned with silanol and octadecyl groups. The films were selectively deposited in the silanol regions through hydration-alcoholysis and condensation reactions. The as-deposited film was amorphous with a complex composition, decomposed into tetragonal-zirconia at 500°C, and further transformed into monoclinic-zirconia at 600°C. The as-deposited film demonstrated a dielectric permittivity of 14 at 100kHz, but a resistivity of 3.1×1011Ωcm and a leakage current density of 9.0×10-7Acm-2 obtained for a MOS device indicated that the film quality needed to be improved.