Method for depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus for depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition are described. For example, the apparatus can form a silicon compound on a substrate (e.g., multiple deposits of material) by exposing the substrate to a first precursor, where the first precursor comprises silicon amidinate. The apparatus can react a second precursor with the silicon compound, and a silicon layer can be formed on the substrate based on exposing the substrate to the first precursor and reacting the second precursor with the silicon compound.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] cross reference This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 680,975, filed May 31, 2024, entitled "METHODS FOR DEPOSITING SILICON FILMS BY ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION" and U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 521,033, filed June 14, 2023, entitled "METHODS FOR DEPOSITING SILICON FILMS BY ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION". Each of these applications has been assigned to the assignee of this application, and each of these applications is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The following relates to one or more systems for memory (storage devices), including a method for depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition. [Background technology]

[0003] Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a technique used to deposit a film on a first material. For example, performing ALD may involve exposing the first material to a first precursor to form a second material on the first material. Furthermore, performing ALD may involve exposing the second material to a second precursor, where the second precursor reacts with the second material to leave a third material on the surface of the first material. In some examples, this process may be repeated, where the third material is exposed to the first precursor to form another example of the second material on the third material, and then another example of the second material is exposed to the second precursor to leave another example of the third material on the surface of the already formed example of the third material.

[0004] In some cases, the reactions involved in ALD may occur at a variety of temperatures. However, if such temperatures fall outside a predetermined range for critical duration, other materials near the material exposed to ALD may undergo changes in physical or chemical properties beyond the expected limits. Such changes in physical or chemical properties may adversely affect the operation of electronic devices containing such other materials (for example, they may shorten the lifespan of the electronic device, increase the likelihood of it malfunctioning, or increase the likelihood of it not functioning as intended). For some materials, the temperature required to promote the reaction in ALD (e.g., the reaction to form a third material) may exceed a predetermined range for critical duration. Therefore, if the reaction of a certain material can be promoted within a predetermined range, or if the reaction of a certain material can be promoted outside a predetermined range for a duration less than the predetermined duration, such a material can reduce the likelihood of adverse effects on the operation of electronic devices. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0005] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. This example of the process illustrates a method for depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of a material formation process. This example of the process supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of an electronic device. This example of an electronic device supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a material formation mechanism. This example of a mechanism supports the method of depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 5]This is a block diagram of a control device. This block diagram of the control device illustrates a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows one or more methods. This flowchart illustrates a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows one or more methods. This flowchart illustrates a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0006] In some cases, silicon films can be deposited on a material by performing ALD using silicon-based precursors. However, forming a silicon film on a material requires setting the ambient temperature to a considerably high value, which can adversely affect the physical or chemical properties of other materials in the same vicinity as that material. For example, electronic devices may be more likely to behave erratically or not function as intended due to changes in the physical or chemical properties of such materials. Therefore, precursors that can form silicon films at lower temperatures can reduce the likelihood of adverse effects on the operation of electronic devices.

[0007] As described herein, precursors containing silicon amidinate can enable the formation of silicon films at lower temperatures compared to other silicon-containing precursors, because the reactivity of silicon amidinate may be higher than that of other such precursors. Additionally or alternatively, such precursors can increase the rate of silicon film formation at a given temperature compared to other such precursors.

[0008] In one example of a method disclosed herein, the method may include exposing a substrate to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the substrate, wherein the first precursor includes a silicon amidinate. Furthermore, the method may include reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound and forming a silicon layer on the substrate based on exposing the substrate to the first precursor and reacting the second precursor with a silicon compound.

[0009] First, the features of this disclosure will be explained in the case of ALD processes and material deposition processes, which will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Furthermore, the features of this disclosure will be explained in the case of a material deposition mechanism, which will be described with reference to Figure 3. Finally, such and other features of this disclosure will be illustrated and explained with reference to Figures 4-6, which include diagrams of apparatus and flowcharts (regarding a method for depositing silicon films by atomic layer deposition).

[0010] Figure 1 shows an example of the ALD process 100. The ALD process 100 supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0011] As shown in stage 101-a, the substrate 105 can be exposed to the first precursor 110. For example, the substrate 105 can be placed in a reactor (e.g., a deposit chamber) into which the gas phase of the first precursor 110 can be introduced. By exposing the substrate to the first precursor, the first compound 115 can be formed on the surface of the substrate 105, as shown in stage 101-b. In some examples, by-product 130-a is formed as a result of the reaction between the substrate 105 and the first precursor 110. By-product 130-a may occur after the formation of the first compound 115. In this case, by-product 130-a and / or a portion of the first precursor 110 may be removed in 102-a before proceeding to stage 101-b (e.g., removed from the reactor). In some examples, the reactor temperature can be set or adjusted to a first predetermined value so that the first compound 115 is formed on the surface of the substrate 105. In some examples, the substrate can be a substrate. In some examples, exposing a material to a precursor may refer to adding the precursor to the reactor in which the material is placed, while reacting a material with a precursor may refer to the chemical reaction that occurs between the precursor and the material, and reacting a material with a precursor may also include setting or adjusting the reactor temperature to a specific temperature that promotes the reaction.

[0012] After forming the first compound 115 in stage 101-a, the first compound 115 can be exposed to the second precursor 120 in stage 101-b. For example, the gas phase of the second precursor 120 can be introduced into the reactor and brought into contact with the surface of the first compound 115. In some examples, the substrate 105 may be transported to a second reactor for introducing the second precursor 120. In other examples, the same reactor may be used. As shown in stage 101-b, the second precursor 120 can react with the first compound 115 to form the second compound 125. In some examples, by-product 130-b is formed as a result of the reaction between the first compound 115 and the second precursor 120. After forming the second compound 125, by-product 130-b and / or at least a portion of the second precursor 120 may be removed in 102-b before proceeding to stage 101-c (for example, by being removed from the reactor). In some examples, the reactor temperature can be set or adjusted to a second predetermined value so that the second compound 125 is formed on the surface of the substrate 105.

[0013] After forming the second compound 125 in stage 101-b, the second compound 125 can be exposed to the first precursor 110 in stage 101-c. For example, the gas phase of the first precursor 110 can be introduced into the reactor and brought into contact with the surface of the second compound 125. In some examples, the substrate 105 may be transported to a third reactor for introducing the first precursor 110. In other examples, the same reactor used for one or both of stages 101-a and 101-b may be used for stage 101-c. The first precursor 110 can react with the second compound 125 to form a second example of the first compound 115 on top of the second compound 125. In some examples, by-product 130-c is formed as a result of the reaction between the second compound 125 and the first precursor 110. After forming a second example of the first compound 115, by-products 130-c and / or at least a portion of the first precursor 110 may be removed in 102-c (e.g., removed from the reactor) before returning to stage 101-b. In some examples, the reactor temperature may be set or adjusted to a first predetermined value or a third predetermined value so that the first compound 115 is formed on the surface of the substrate 105. In some examples, an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen) may be used to supply the first precursor 110 and the second precursor 120 to the reactor (e.g., multiple reactors). Additionally or alternatively, by-products 130-a, 130-b, and / or 130-c may be removed using an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen).

[0014] In some cases, this process can be repeated to deposit multiple layers of the second compound 125. For example, after depositing a first example of the second compound 125, the first example of the second compound 125 can be exposed to the first precursor 110 to form a second example of the first compound 115 on the surface of the first example of the second compound 125. Then, the second example of the first compound 115 can be exposed to the second precursor 120 to form a second example of the second compound 125 on the surface of the first example of the second compound 125.

[0015] In some examples, the first precursor 110 and the first compound 115 may contain silicon amidinate. For example, the first precursor may have the chemical formula Si(AMD)2 or X-Si(AMD), where Si may correspond to silicon, AMD may correspond to amidinate, and X may be a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, alkyl sulfide group, alkyl selenide group, alkyl telluride group, amide group with two substituents, hydrazide group with three substituents, cyanide group, etc. The amide group may include a socyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring).

[0016] Furthermore, the second precursor 120 may contain ammonia or alcohol. Additionally or alternatively, the second precursor 120 may have the chemical formula YH, where H may be hydrogen (or deuterium) and Y may be an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, or a thiocyanate group. The amide group may be an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). Additionally or alternatively, the second precursor 120 may have the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3, where Y is an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogen group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents.Alternatively or in addition, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (e.g., they may form or generate a pyrrolidine ring). In some examples, Z can be independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin. In some examples, each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, an alkyl group, an aryl group, -SiR. a R b R c moiety, -GeR a R b R c moiety, -SnR a R b R c moiety, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e moiety, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e moiety, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R e [[ID=四十八]]moiety, or can be independently selected from a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, or a tin atom, or a moiety containing any combination thereof. In some examples, each atom of a moiety composed of a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, a tin atom, or any combination thereof may be fully saturated with each respective substituent, and thus each of those atoms (carbon, silicon, germanium, or tin) may have four bonds, and those four bonds may be bonds to another atom (carbon, silicon, germanium, or tin) of the moiety, or a bond to the corresponding substituent represented as R[[ID=四十九]] a [[ID=五十]]~R[[ID=五十一]] x [[ID=五十二]] (where the substituents can be represented as a, b, c,,,,, x, and x refers to something different from a). In some such examples, up to 10 carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms can be included in the moiety, and such atoms are R[[ID=五十三]] a [[ID=五十四]]~Rx It is distinct from any of the substituent carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms. Furthermore, the portion consisting of carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, tin atoms, or any combination thereof may be linear, branched, or cyclic, and in some examples, R a ~R x This may be independently selected from hydrogen (or deuterium), alkyl groups, or aryl groups.

[0017] In some examples, the substrate 105 can be a structure on a substrate (e.g., a wafer). In some such examples, the substrate 105 may extend in a first direction and a second direction, where the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Furthermore, a memory device including the substrate 105 may include word lines extending along the first and / or second direction, and bit lines extending along a third direction perpendicular to the first and second direction. In some such examples, deposits of material (e.g., arrays of material) may be formed in one or more recesses of the word lines, the deposits may extend along the first and / or second direction, and the arrays of material may include memory cells (e.g., chalcogenide elements). In some examples, compounds can be formed on the substrate 105, word lines, bit lines, deposits, or any combination thereof using the techniques described herein.

[0018] Figure 2 shows an example of the material deposition process 200. The material deposition process 200 supports a method for forming a silicon layer by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0019] As shown in Figure 2, layer 210 can be exposed to a first precursor 205. The first precursor includes, for example, silicon amidinate. For example, the first precursor 205 may have the chemical formula Si(AMD)2 or X-Si(AMD), where Si corresponds to silicon, AMD corresponds to amidinate, and X is a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, alkyl sulfide group, alkyl selenide group, alkyl telluride group, amide group with two substituents, hydrazide group with three substituents, cyanide group, isocyanide The amidinate group may include a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). In some such examples (for example, when the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2), the amidinate may include N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate, where N and N' may each correspond to nitrogen.

[0020] In some examples, the first precursor 205 reacting with layer 210 may form a by-product 225-a, which may be removed from the reactor. After forming the first compound 220, the first compound 220 can be exposed to the second precursor 215. The second precursor 215 can react with the first compound 220 to form the second compound 230. In some examples, the second precursor 215 can form a layer on the first compound 220, which can react with the first compound 220 to form the second compound 230. In other examples, the second precursor 215 can react directly with the first compound 220 to form the second compound 230. This reaction may produce a by-product 225, which may be removed from the reactor.

[0021] In some examples, the second compound 230 can be exposed to the first precursor 205 to form a second example of the first compound on the second compound 230. In some examples, the first precursor can form a layer on the second compound 230, and this layer can react with the second compound 230 to form a second example of the first compound. In other examples, the first precursor 205 can be reacted directly with the second compound 230 to form a second example of the first compound. This reaction may produce a by-product 225-c, which may be removed from the reactor. Without departing from the scope of this disclosure, the second example of the first compound may instead be a third compound different from the first compound. In some examples, this process can be repeated to deposit multiple layers of the second compound 230. For example, the process can be repeated again, where the second example of the first compound acts as the illustrated first compound 220, and the second compound 230 acts as layer 210. In some examples, an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen) can be used to supply the first precursor 205 and the second precursor 215 to the reactor (or, for example, multiple reactors). Additionally or alternatively, an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen) can be used to remove by-products 225-a, 225-b, and / or 225-c.

[0022] In some cases, the first precursor 205 may have the following chemical formula. [ka]

[0023] In such examples, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these may contain at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group, where R2 and R 12 Each comprises at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, an aryl group, or a dialkylamino group, where C corresponds to carbon and N corresponds to nitrogen. In some such examples, R1 and R 11 These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12 These groups are bonded to the same compound or the same element or any combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, in some such examples, the dialkylamino group may include a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, where the alkyl group is linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together with a pyrrolidine group.

[0024] In some examples, the second precursor 215 may contain ammonia or alcohol. Additionally or alternatively, the second precursor 215 may have the chemical formula YH, where H may be hydrogen (or deuterium) and Y may be an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, or a thiocyanate group. The amide group may be an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). Additionally or alternatively, the second precursor 215 may have the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3, where Y is an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogen group, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents.Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). In some examples, Z can be independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin. In some examples, each of R1, R2, and R3 may be hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl group, aryl group, or -SiR. a R b R c Part, -GeR a R b R c Part, -SnR a R b R c Part, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e Part, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e Part, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R e A portion, or a portion containing a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, or a tin atom, or any combination thereof, can be independently selected. In some examples, each atom of a portion consisting of a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, a tin atom, or any combination thereof may be completely saturated with its respective substituent, and so each of those atoms (carbon, silicon, germanium, or tin) may have four bonds, the four bonds of which may be bonds to another atom (carbon, silicon, germanium, or tin) of the portion, or R a ~R x The bond may be to the corresponding substituent represented as (where the substituent can be represented as a, b, c, ..., x, where x refers to something different from a). In some such examples, the part may include up to 10 carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms, such atoms being R a ~Rx It is distinct from any of the substituent carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms. Furthermore, the portion consisting of carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, tin atoms, or any combination thereof may be linear, branched, or cyclic, and in some examples, R a ~R x This may be independently selected from hydrogen (or deuterium), alkyl groups, or aryl groups.

[0025] In some cases, the term "alkyl" refers to a group of atoms ranging from one carbon atom (e.g., C1) to ten carbon atoms (e.g., C1). 10 This can refer to saturated hydrocarbon chains, unsaturated hydrocarbon chains, linear hydrocarbon chains, branched hydrocarbon chains, or cyclic hydrocarbon chains containing ).

[0026] In some cases, "methyl" can refer to a compound having the chemical formula CH3, where "C" can refer to carbon and "H" can refer to hydrogen. In some cases, "ethyl" can refer to a compound having the chemical formula CH2CH3. In some cases, "propyl" can refer to a compound having the chemical formula CH2CH2CH3. In some cases, "isopropyl" can refer to a compound having the chemical formula CH(CH3)2. In some cases, alkyl groups can refer to compounds with the chemical formula C n H 2n+1 A compound can be defined as having a specific group, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In some examples, a sulfide can refer to an inorganic anion of sulfur, a selenide to an inorganic anion of selenium, and a telluride to an inorganic anion of tellurium. In some examples, a dialkylamide can refer to an amide group having two alkyl groups.

[0027] Dimethylamino is the part with the chemical formula (CH3)2N-, where "C" can refer to carbon, "H" can refer to hydrogen (or deuterium), and "N" can refer to nitrogen. In some cases, diethylamino is the part with the chemical formula (CH3CH2)2N-. In some cases, ethylmethylamino is the part with the chemical formula (CH3CH2)(CH3)N-.

[0028] In some cases, the methods or embodiments of the methods described herein can be carried out using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). For example, the first precursor 205 can be deposited using CVD, the second precursor can be reacted with the first compound 220 by the method described herein, the first compound 220 can be formed using the first precursor 205 by the method described herein, the second precursor 215 can be deposited on the first compound 220 using CVD, or both the first precursor 205 and the second precursor 215 can be deposited using CVD.

[0029] The inclusion of a set of elements and / or compounds independently, or the selection of elements and / or compounds independently, may mean that the first element or compound can be used in place of the other elements or compounds, while still producing precursors that can be used to form compounds on the surface of the material.

[0030] Furthermore, there may be examples in which a second precursor 215 is reacted with layer 210 to form a third compound. In some such examples, the first precursor 205 can be reacted with the third compound to form a fourth compound. This process may be repeated to form multiple layers of a silicon-based film.

[0031] The second compound 230 can be formed by sequentially introducing and reacting the first precursor 205 and the second precursor 215 (i.e., in the order ABAB…). Alternatively, depending on the composition of the second compound 230, the precursors may be introduced in a different order (for example, in the order BABA…, AABAAB…, or ABBABB). For example, the first precursor 205 may be introduced first, followed by the second precursor 215. Depending on the composition of the second compound 230, the first precursor 205 or the second precursor 215 may be introduced multiple times (e.g., pulsed introduction), and then the second precursor 215 or the first precursor 205 may be introduced, respectively.

[0032] In some examples, a first molecule for the first precursor 205 (i.e., precursor 1-a) and a second molecule for the second precursor 215 (i.e., precursor 2-a) may be introduced repeatedly for one or more cycles (e.g., AA times or AA cycles, where AA is some positive integer). After introducing precursors 1-a and 2-a repeatedly over multiple cycles, a third molecule for the first precursor 205 (i.e., precursor 1-b) and a fourth molecule for the second precursor (i.e., precursor 2-b) may be introduced repeatedly for one or more cycles (e.g., BB times or BB cycles, where BB is some positive integer). This process may be continued for a predetermined number of other precursors (e.g., CC times or CC cycles for precursors 1-c and 2-c, DD times or DD cycles for precursors 1-d and 2-d, and so on, up to XX times or XX cycles for precursors 1-x and 2-x, where CC, DD, and XX are all positive integers). After continuing this process for a predetermined number of times, the process may be repeated (for example, precursors 1-a and 2-a may be used again for AA times or AA cycles). Note that each molecule used as a precursor for each cycle may be selected from the same molecule for different cycles, or the molecules used for the first precursor 205 and the second precursor 215 may be selected from molecules different from those described herein. In some examples, the ALD cycle may include alternating pulsed delivery of silicon amidinate and a reagent capable of donating a proton or a trimethylsilyl group.

[0033] In some such examples, a third precursor can be reacted with a layer of the second compound 230 to form another compound on the layer of the second compound 230. Furthermore, a fourth precursor can be reacted with that other compound to form a second layer on the layer of the second compound 230. In some such examples, a set of P precursor pairs can be identified, where each precursor pair in a set of P precursor pairs comprises one of the precursors from the first set and one of the precursors from the second set, each precursor pair is associated with a cycle number, where P is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and each precursor in the first set of precursors has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2 or X-Si(AMD), where Si corresponds to silicon, AMD corresponds to amidinate, and X is a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, or alkyl sulfide group The groups may include alkyl selenide groups, alkyl telluride groups, amide groups with two substituents, hydrazide groups with three substituents, cyanide groups, isocyanide groups, cyanate groups, isocyanate groups, selenocyanate groups, isoselenocyanate groups, telusyanate groups, isoterucyanate groups, azide groups, fluminate groups, isofluminate groups, or halogen groups, where the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). Furthermore, for each precursor pair in a set of P precursor pairs, according to the associated number of cycles, it is possible to react one of the precursors from the first set to form the respective compound, and to react one of the precursors from the second set with the respective compound to form one or more layers, in order to form the respective film associated with the precursor pair.

[0034] The methods described herein may have one or more advantages. For example, by using a silicon amidinate in the first precursor 205, the reaction (e.g., formation of the first compound 220 and / or the second compound 230) can be carried out at a lower temperature compared to a silicon amidinate-free precursor. Additionally or alternatively, by using a silicon amidinate in the first precursor 205, deposition can be carried out more rapidly at a given temperature compared to a silicon amidinate-free precursor.

[0035] Figure 3 shows an example of an electronic device 300. The electronic device 300 supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. The electronic device 300 may include a substrate 305 having one or more components 310 (e.g., columnar parts, deposited parts), and the substrate 305 and one or more components 310 may be covered with material 315. Each component 310 may include materials 320, 325, 330, 335, and 340, each of which may be a chalcogenide material, an organic (e.g., carbon) material, an allotrope of carbon (e.g., graphite), a reactive metal (e.g., tungsten, aluminum, or tantalum), a heat-sensitive material, an oxidation-sensitive material, or any combination thereof. Some of materials 320, 325, 330, 335, and 340 may be other materials. In some examples, the substrate 305, or a combination of the substrate 305 and one or more components 310, may be an example of the substrate 105 described with reference to Figure 1, or an example of the layer 210 described with reference to Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, the material 315 may be an example of the second compound 125 described with reference to Figure 1, or an example of the second compound 230 described with reference to Figure 2.

[0036] Figure 3 shows a component 310 comprising five materials, although each component may consist of a single material, two or more materials, or five materials. The components may be separated from each other by openings 322. The materials of the component 310 can be formed adjacent to (e.g., on) the substrate 305 using techniques such as photolithography, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or ALD. In some examples, the substrate 305 may contain one or more materials, layers, structures, or regions on it. The component 310 may have a high aspect ratio (HAR) feature, where HAR can correspond to, for example, an aspect ratio of 10:1 or greater, 20:1 or greater, 25:1 or greater, or 50:1 or greater. In some examples, the material 315 can be formed on either the substrate 305 or one or more of the components 310, rather than on both the substrate 305 and one or more of the components 310. Additionally or alternatively, material 315 can be formed as a material in each of one or more components 310. Additionally or alternatively, material 315 can be formed on a planar material or on a low aspect ratio component of an electronic device.

[0037] Material 315 can be formed to cover component 310 according to embodiments described herein. For example, material 315 can be formed by sequentially exposing component 310 of the electronic device 300 to a first precursor (e.g., first precursor 205) and a second precursor (e.g., second precursor 215), as described herein. Material 315 can function as a conductive element of the electronic device 300 (e.g., a transistor, capacitor, electrode, etching stop material, gate, barrier material, or spacer material). Subsequently, one or more materials and / or structures (e.g., a gate) can be formed in the opening 322 by photolithography, PVD, CVD, or ALD and / or further process work performed to form a complete electronic device including the electronic device 300.

[0038] The material 315 can be formed on the component 310 to conform to its shape according to the embodiments described herein. For example, the thickness of the material 315 on the sidewall of the component 310 can be substantially uniform. For example, the material 315 can be formed to a thickness in the range of a monolayer ~100 nm. Alternatively, the material 315 can be formed to be thicker. The material 315 may be in direct contact with each or some of the materials of the component 310. Additionally or alternatively, the material 315 may be in contact with the substrate 305.

[0039] In some examples, the substrate 305 can be a structure on a substrate (e.g., a wafer). In some such examples, the substrate 305 may extend in a first direction and a second direction, where the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Furthermore, a memory device including the substrate 305 may include word lines extending along the first direction and / or the second direction, and bit lines extending along a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions. In some such examples, deposits of material (e.g., an array of material such as component 310) can be formed in one or more recesses of the word lines, where the deposits may extend along the first direction and / or the second direction, and the array of material may include memory cells (e.g., chalcogenide elements). In some examples, the deposits may each be coupled to one word line and one bit line. In some examples, silicon layers, word lines, bit lines, deposits, or any combination thereof can be formed on the substrate 305 using the techniques described herein.

[0040] Figure 4 shows an example of a material deposition mechanism 400. This material deposition mechanism 400 supports a method for forming a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein.

[0041] As shown in stage 405-a, the substrate 410 may first include a layer of silicon (e.g., reduced silicon). Between stages 405-a and 405-b, the substrate 410 may be exposed to silicon amidinate (e.g., Si(AMD)2 or X-Si(AMD)). For example, the substrate 410 may be placed in a reactor (e.g., a deposition chamber) in which a gas phase of silicon amidinate can be introduced. By exposing the first layer of silicon to silicon amidinate, it becomes possible to bond the first layer of silicon with a second layer of silicon, where each silicon atom in the second layer of silicon is bonded to a certain amount of amidinate (e.g., two amidinate ligands each). In some examples, each silicon atom in the second layer of silicon may have a +2 formal oxidation state.

[0042] Between stages 405-b and 405-c, the second silicon layer can be exposed to ammonia (e.g., NH3). For example, ammonia can be introduced into the reactor where the substrate 410 is located. By exposing the second silicon layer to ammonia, some of the ammonia molecules (e.g., the NH2 moiety) can bond with the silicon atoms in the second silicon layer. In some cases, the NH2 moiety that bonds with the silicon atoms may be replaced by one or more amidinates, which can be released as a byproduct in the form of AMD-H. Between stages 405-c and 405-d, the AMD-H byproduct may be removed before proceeding to stage 405-d (e.g., removed from the reactor).

[0043] In stage 405-d, the first subset of the second layer of silicon atoms can be reacted such that some of the amidinate ligands and some of the NH2 ligands migrate from one silicon atom to another to form a byproduct. Such a byproduct contains silicon oxide (e.g., having a formal oxidation state of +4) bonded to two amidinate ligands and two NH2 ligands. The second subset of the second layer of silicon atoms can remain bonded to the first layer of silicon after this reaction has occurred and can be reduced (e.g., having a formal oxidation state of 0). The byproduct can be removed (e.g., removed from the reactor). In some examples, the reactor temperature can be set or adjusted so that a byproduct containing silicon oxide atoms bonded to two amidinate ligands and two NH2 ligands is formed. In some examples, an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen) can be used to supply silicon amidinate and / or NH3 to the reactor (or, e.g., multiple reactors). Additionally or alternatively, an inert gas (e.g., argon, helium, nitrogen) may be used to remove by-products (e.g., AMD-H or silicon oxide atoms bound to two amidinate ligands and two NH2 ligands).

[0044] In some cases, this process can be repeated to deposit multiple layers of silicon film. For example, after depositing a second subset of a second layer of silicon atoms, the second subset of the second layer of silicon atoms and any exposed portion of the first layer of silicon atoms can be exposed to silicon amidinate, followed by exposure to ammonia.

[0045] In the first example, the chemical formula for material deposition mechanism 400 may be: Si(AMD)2 + Si(AMD)2 + 2NH3 → Si + 2H-AMD + Si(NH2)2(AMD)2. Note that other chemical formulas may be used for material deposition mechanism 400. In the second example, the chemical formula may be: Si(AMD)2 + Si(AMD)2 + 4NH3 → Si + 4H-AMD + Si(NH2)4. In the third example (for example, an example in which ammonia is not used in material deposition mechanism 400), the chemical formula may be: Si(AMD)2 + Si(AMD)2 → Si + Si(AMD)4. The first, second, and third examples may be examples of reversible disproportionation reactions.

[0046] The method described herein may have one or more advantages. For example, the method described herein can reduce the silicon atoms of a second subset of silicon atoms in a second layer of silicon atoms after carrying out the material deposition mechanism 400. The reduction of silicon atoms makes it possible to repeat the same procedure to deposit further silicon atoms.

[0047] Figure 5 is a block diagram 500 showing the control device 520. The block diagram 500 of the control device 520 illustrates a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. The control device 520 may be an example of an embodiment of the control device as described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The control device 520 or its various components may be an example of means for carrying out various embodiments of the method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition as described herein. For example, the control device 520 may include an exposure unit 525, a reaction unit 530, a forming unit 535, or any combination thereof. Each of these units can communicate with one another directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0048] The exposure section 525 can be configured as a means for exposing a substrate to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the substrate, or can support a means for exposing a substrate to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the substrate, where the first precursor includes silicon amidinate. The reaction section 530 can be configured as a means for reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound, or can support a means for reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound. The forming section 535 can be configured as a means for forming a silicon layer on the substrate, at least partially based on exposing the substrate to a first precursor and reacting the second precursor with a silicon compound, or can support a means for forming a silicon layer on the substrate, at least partially based on exposing the substrate to a first precursor and reacting the second precursor with a silicon compound.

[0049] In some examples, the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2. In some examples, Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate.

[0050] In some examples, the first precursor has the following chemical formula: [ka] In some examples, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these groups contains at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group. In some examples, R2 and R 12 Each of these groups contains at least one of the following: hydrogen, deuterium, methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, butyl group, isopropyl group, linear alkyl group, branched alkyl group, aryl group, or dialkylamino group. In some examples, C corresponds to carbon. In some examples, N corresponds to nitrogen.

[0051] In some examples, R1 and R 11These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12 They are bonded to the same compound, the same element, or any combination thereof.

[0052] In some examples, the dialkylamino group includes a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, where the alkyl group may be linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together at a pyrrolidine group.

[0053] In some examples, amidinates include N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate. In some examples, N and N' each represent the respective nitrogen atoms.

[0054] In some examples, the first precursor has the chemical formula X-Si(AMD). In some examples, Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate. In some examples, X includes a dialkylamide group, an alkoxide group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a tellocyanate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group. In some examples, the two substituents on the amide group or the three substituents on the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring).

[0055] In some cases, the second precursor includes ammonia or alcohol.

[0056] In some examples, the second precursor has the chemical formula YH. In some examples, H is hydrogen or deuterium. In some examples, Y is an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogen group. In some examples, the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, they may generate or form a pyrrolidine ring).

[0057] In some examples, the second precursor has the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3. In some examples, Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a germyloxy group, a trimethylgermyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a tellurocyanate group, an isotellurocyanate group, an azide group, a fulminate group, an isofulminate group, or a halide group. In some examples, the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from an alkyl substituent, one or more hydrogens, deuteriums, or a silyl substituent containing an alkyl substituent, and a germyl substituent containing one or more hydrogens, deuteriums, or an alkyl substituent. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (e.g., may form or constitute a pyrrolidine ring). In some examples, Z is independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin. In some examples, each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, an alkyl group, an aryl group, -SiR a R b R c moiety, -GeR a R b R c moiety, -SnR a R b R c moiety, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e moiety, -CR a R b SiR c R d R<000​​​​​​​​​​A moiety is independently selected from a moiety containing a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, or a tin atom, or any combination thereof. In some examples, each atom in the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof is completely saturated by having four bonds, and these four bonds are each substituent R a ~R x It is a bond with R, or a bond with at least one other atom from carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, or any combination thereof. In some examples, up to 10 atoms from carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, or any combination thereof are bonded to R a ~R x It is different from any carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, or tin atom. In some examples, R a ~R x R is independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl, or aryl groups. In some examples, R x x is R a This refers to something different from 'a'.

[0058] In some examples, the forming section 535 can be configured as a means for forming a plurality of deposits of material on a substrate, or can support a means for forming a plurality of deposits of material on a substrate. In some examples, the exposure section 525 can be configured as a means for exposing a plurality of deposits of material to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the plurality of deposits of material, or can support a means for exposing a plurality of deposits of material to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the plurality of deposits of material, where the first precursor includes silicon amidinate. In some examples, the exposure section 525 can be configured as a means for exposing a plurality of deposits of material to a second precursor, or can support a means for exposing a plurality of deposits of material to a second precursor. In some examples, the forming unit 535 can be configured as a means for forming a silicon layer on a plurality of material deposits, at least partially based on exposing a plurality of material deposits to a first precursor and reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound, or it can support a means for forming a silicon layer on a plurality of material deposits, at least partially based on exposing a plurality of material deposits to a first precursor and reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound.

[0059] In some examples, the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2. In some examples, Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate.

[0060] In some examples, the first precursor has the following chemical formula: [ka] In some examples, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these groups contains at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group. In some examples, R2 and R 12Each of these groups contains at least one of the following: hydrogen, deuterium, methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, butyl group, isopropyl group, linear alkyl group, branched alkyl group, aryl group, or dialkylamino group. In some examples, C corresponds to carbon. In some examples, N corresponds to nitrogen.

[0061] In some examples, R1 and R 11 These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 These are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12 They are bonded to the same compound, the same element, or any combination thereof.

[0062] In some examples, the dialkylamino group includes a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, where the alkyl group may be linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together at a pyrrolidine group.

[0063] In some examples, amidinates include N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate. In some examples, N and N' each represent the respective nitrogen atoms.

[0064] In some examples, the first precursor has the chemical formula X-Si(AMD). In some examples, Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate. In some examples, X includes a dialkylamide group, an alkoxide group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a tellocyanate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group. In some examples, the two substituents on the amide group or the three substituents on the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring).

[0065] In some cases, the second precursor includes ammonia or alcohol.

[0066] In some examples, the second precursor has the chemical formula YH. In some examples, H is hydrogen. In some examples, Y is an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogen group. In some examples, the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, they may generate or form a pyrrolidine ring).

[0067] In some examples, the second precursor has the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3. In some examples, Y is an amide group with two substituents, a hydrazide group with three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isoterucyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group. In some examples, the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents. Additionally or alternatively, two of these substituents may be bonded to each other (for example, to generate or form a pyrrolidine ring). In some examples, Z is independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin. In some examples, each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl group, aryl group, -SiR a R b R c Part, -GeR a R b R c Part, -SnR a R b R c Part, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e Part, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e Part, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R eA moiety is independently selected from a moiety containing a carbon atom, a silicon atom, a germanium atom, or a tin atom, or any combination thereof. In some examples, each atom in the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof is completely saturated by having four bonds, and these four bonds are each substituent R a ~R x It is a bond with R, or a bond with at least one other atom from carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, or any combination thereof. In some examples, up to 10 atoms from carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, or any combination thereof are bonded to R a ~R x It is different from any carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, or tin atom. In some examples, R a ~R x R is independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl, or aryl groups. In some examples, R x x is R a This refers to something different from 'a'.

[0068] Figure 6 is a flowchart of Method 600. Method 600 supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. The steps of Method 600 can be carried out by a control device or its components as described herein. For example, the steps of Method 600 can be carried out by a control device as described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In some examples, the control device can carry out the functions described herein by executing a series of commands that control the functional elements of the device. Additionally or alternatively, the control device can carry out embodiments of the functions described herein using dedicated hardware.

[0069] In 605, the method may include exposing a substrate to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the substrate, wherein the first precursor includes a silicon amidinate. The step of 605 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, an aspect of the step of 605 can be carried out by an exposure section 525, as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0070] In step 610, the method may include reacting a second precursor with a silicon compound. Step 610 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of step 610 can be carried out by the reaction section 530 as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0071] In 615, the method may include forming a silicon layer on the substrate, at least in part, based on exposing the substrate to a first precursor and reacting the second precursor with a silicon compound. The step of 615 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the step of 615 can be carried out by forming unit 535 as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0072] In some examples, the apparatus described herein can carry out one or more methods (e.g., method 600). The apparatus may include mechanisms, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for carrying out the following aspects of the disclosure.

[0073] Embodiment 1: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium comprising steps, mechanisms, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for exposing a substrate to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the substrate, wherein the first precursor comprises a silicon amidinate, forming the silicon compound, reacting a second precursor with the silicon compound, and forming a layer of silicon on the substrate, at least in part, based on exposing the substrate to the first precursor and reacting the second precursor with the silicon compound.

[0074] Embodiment 2: The method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium of Embodiment 1, wherein the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2, where Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate.

[0075] Embodiment 3: The first precursor has the following chemical formula, [ka] In the formula, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these comprises at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group, and R2 and R 12 A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to Embodiment 2, wherein each comprises at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, butyl group, isopropyl group, linear alkyl group, branched alkyl group, aryl group, or dialkylamino group, where C corresponds to carbon and N corresponds to nitrogen.

[0076] Appearance 4: R1 and R 11 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12 A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to Embodiment 3, which is bonded to the same compound or the same element or any combination thereof.

[0077] Embodiment 5: The dialkylamino group includes a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, wherein the alkyl group is linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together at a pyrrolidine group, according to any method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium of Embodiments 3 to 4.

[0078] Embodiment 6: The amidinate comprises N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate, where N and N' each correspond to the respective nitrogen atoms, in any of the methods, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable media according to Embodiments 2 to 5.

[0079] Embodiment 7: The first precursor has the chemical formula X-Si(AMD), where Si corresponds to silicon, AMD corresponds to amidinate, and X is a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, alkyl sulfide group, alkyl selenide group, alkyl telluride group, amide group with two substituents, hydrazide group with three substituents, cyanide group, isocyanide group, cyanate group, isocyanate group, selenocyanate group, isoselenocyanate group, telluricianate group, A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 1 to 6, comprising an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0080] Embodiment 8: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of Embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the second precursor comprises ammonia or an alcohol.

[0081] Embodiment 9: The second precursor has the chemical formula YH, where H is hydrogen or deuterium, and Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telluricianate group, an isoterusyl A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the amide group is an anete group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogenated group, and the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0082] Embodiment 10: The second precursor has the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3, where Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telluricianate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, and A sofluminate group or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and germyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring, Z is independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin, and each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl group, aryl group, -SiR a R b R c Part, -GeR a R b R c Part, -SnR a R b R c Part, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e Part, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e Part, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R eA portion is independently selected from a portion comprising carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms, or any combination thereof, wherein each atom in the carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, tin atoms, or any combination thereof is completely saturated by having four bonds, and the four bonds are each substituent R a ~R x The bond is with R, or with at least one other atom from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof, and up to 10 atoms from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof are R a ~R x It is different from any carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, or tin atom, R a ~R x However, R is independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl, or aryl groups. x x is R a A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 1 to 9, which is different from a of (a).

[0083] Figure 7 is a flowchart of Method 700. Method 700 supports a method for depositing a silicon film by atomic layer deposition according to the examples disclosed herein. The steps of Method 700 can be carried out by a control device or its components as described herein. For example, the steps of Method 700 can be carried out by a control device as described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In some examples, the control device can carry out the functions described herein by executing a series of commands that control the functional elements of the device. Additionally or alternatively, the control device can carry out embodiments of the functions described herein using dedicated hardware.

[0084] In step 705, the method may include forming multiple deposits of material on a substrate. The step in step 705 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the step in step 705 can be carried out by the forming unit 535 as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0085] In 710, the method may include exposing multiple deposits of material to a first precursor to form a silicon compound on the multiple deposits of material, wherein the first precursor includes a silicon amidinate. The step of 710 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the step of 710 can be carried out by an exposure section 525, as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0086] In step 715, the method may include exposing multiple deposits of material to a second precursor. The step in step 715 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, an aspect of the step in step 715 can be carried out by the exposure section 525, as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0087] In 720, the method may include forming a layer of silicon on a plurality of deposits of material, at least in part, by exposing a plurality of deposits of material to a first precursor and reacting the second precursor with a silicon compound. The step of 720 can be carried out according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the step of 720 can be carried out by the forming unit 535 as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0088] In some examples, the apparatus described herein can carry out one or more methods (e.g., method 700). The apparatus may include mechanisms, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for carrying out the following aspects of the disclosure.

[0089] Embodiment 11: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium comprising a process, mechanism, circuit, logic, means, or instruction, or any combination thereof, for forming a silicon compound on a substrate, exposing the plurality of material deposits to a first precursor, wherein the first precursor comprises a silicon amidinate, exposing the plurality of material deposits to a second precursor, and forming a silicon layer on the plurality of material deposits, at least partially based on exposing the plurality of material deposits to a first precursor and reacting the second precursor with the silicon compound.

[0090] Embodiment 12: The method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium of Embodiment 11, wherein the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2, where Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate.

[0091] Embodiment 13: The first precursor has the following chemical formula, [ka] In the formula, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these comprises at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group, and R2 and R 12 A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to Embodiment 12, wherein each comprises at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, an aryl group, or a dialkylamino group, where C corresponds to carbon and N corresponds to nitrogen.

[0092] Appearance 14: R1 and R 11 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium of aspect 13, which is bonded to the same compound or the same element or any combination thereof.

[0093] Embodiment 15: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of Embodiments 13 to 14, wherein the dialkylamino group includes a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, and the alkyl group is linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together at a pyrrolidine group.

[0094] Embodiment 16: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of Embodiments 12 to 15, wherein the amidinate comprises N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate, where N and N' each correspond to the respective nitrogen atoms.

[0095] Embodiment 17: The first precursor has the chemical formula X-Si(AMD), where Si corresponds to silicon, AMD corresponds to amidinate, and X is a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, alkyl sulfide group, alkyl selenide group, alkyl telluride group, amide group with two substituents, hydrazide group with three substituents, cyanide group, isocyanide group, cyanate group, isocyanate group, selenocyanate group, isoselenocyanate group, telluricianate group, A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 11 to 16, comprising an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogens, deuterium, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0096] Embodiment 18: A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of Embodiments 11 to 17, wherein the second precursor comprises ammonia or an alcohol.

[0097] Embodiment 19: The second precursor has the chemical formula YH, where H is hydrogen or deuterium, and Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telluricianate group, an isoterusyl A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 11 to 18, wherein the amide group is an anete group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0098] Embodiment 20: The second precursor has the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3, where Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl tellide group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telusyanate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, and A sofluminate group or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and germyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring, Z is independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin, and each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl group, aryl group, -SiR a R b R c Part, -GeR a R b R c Part, -SnR a R b R c Part, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e Part, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e Part, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R eA portion is independently selected from a portion comprising carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms, or any combination thereof, wherein each atom in the carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, tin atoms, or any combination thereof is completely saturated by having four bonds, and the four bonds are each substituent R a ~R x The bond is with R, or with at least one other atom from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof, and up to 10 atoms from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof are R a ~R x It is different from any carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, or tin atom, R a ~R x However, R is independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl, or aryl groups. x x is R a A method, apparatus, or non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any of embodiments 11 to 19, which refers to something different from a.

[0099] While the methods described herein illustrate possible embodiments, their operations and processes can be reconfigured or modified, and other embodiments are also possible. Furthermore, two or more parts of the methods may be combined.

[0100] The apparatus will now be described. An overview of the embodiments of the apparatus described in this specification is given below.

[0101] Embodiment 21: An apparatus comprising: a plurality of deposits of a material on a substrate, wherein at least one of the plurality of deposits of the material comprises a memory material; and a layer of silicon on the plurality of deposits of the material, formed by exposing the plurality of deposits of the material to a first precursor comprising silicon amidinate and to a second precursor.

[0102] Embodiment 22: The apparatus of Embodiment 21, wherein the first precursor has the chemical formula Si(AMD)2, where Si corresponds to silicon and AMD corresponds to amidinate.

[0103] Embodiment 23: The first precursor has the following chemical formula, [ka] In the formula, R1, R3, R 11 , and R 13 Each of these comprises at least one of the following: a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, or an aryl group, and R2 and R 12 The apparatus of embodiment 22, wherein each contains at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, an isopropyl group, a linear alkyl group, a branched alkyl group, an aryl group, or a dialkylamino group, and C corresponds to carbon and N corresponds to nitrogen.

[0104] Appearance 24: R1 and R 11 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R3 and R 13 However, they are bonded to the same compound or the same element, and R2 and R 12 The apparatus of embodiment 23, wherein the same compound or the same element or any combination thereof is bonded to it.

[0105] Embodiment 25: The apparatus according to any of Embodiments 23 to 24, wherein the dialkylamino group includes a dimethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a methylethylamino group, or a dialkylamino group having 12 or fewer carbon atoms, and the alkyl group is linear, branched, cyclic, or bonded together at a pyrrolidine group.

[0106] Embodiment 26: The apparatus according to any of Embodiments 22 to 25, wherein the amidinate comprises N,N'-di-tert-butyl-acetamidinate, where N and N' each correspond to the respective nitrogen atoms.

[0107] Embodiment 27: The first precursor has the chemical formula X-Si(AMD), where Si corresponds to silicon, AMD corresponds to amidinate, and X is a dialkylamide group, alkoxide group, silyloxy group, trimethylsilyloxy group, gelmyloxy group, trimethylgelmyloxy group, alkyl sulfide group, alkyl selenide group, alkyl telluride group, amide group with two substituents, hydrazide group with three substituents, cyanide group, isocyanide group, cyanate group, isocyanate group, selenocyanate group, isoselenocyanate group, An apparatus according to any of embodiments 21 to 26, comprising a tellocyanate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0108] Embodiment 28: The apparatus according to any of Embodiments 21 to 27, wherein the second precursor comprises ammonia or alcohol.

[0109] Embodiment 29: The second precursor has the chemical formula YH, where H is hydrogen or deuterium, and Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, or a telluride group. An apparatus according to any of embodiments 21 to 28, wherein the amide group is an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, an isofluminate group, or a halogenated group, and the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and gelmyl substituents containing one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring.

[0110] Embodiment 30: The second precursor has the chemical formula Y-ZR1R2R3, where Y is an amide group containing two substituents, a hydrazide group containing three substituents, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, a trimethylsilyloxy group, a gelmyloxy group, a trimethylgelmyloxy group, an alkyl sulfide group, an alkyl selenide group, an alkyl telluride group, a cyanide group, an isocyanide group, a cyanate group, an isocyanate group, a thiocyanate group, an isothiocyanate group, a selenocyanate group, an isoselenocyanate group, a telluricianate group, an isotercyanate group, an azide group, a fluminate group, and A sofluminate group or a halide group, wherein the two substituents of the amide group or the three substituents of the hydrazide group are selected from alkyl substituents, silyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and germyl substituents comprising one or more hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, or alkyl substituents, and two of the two substituents or two of the three substituents are bonded to form a pyrrolidine ring, Z is independently selected from silicon, germanium, or tin, and each of R1, R2, and R3 is hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl group, aryl group, -SiR a R b R c Part, -GeR a R b R c Part, -SnR a R b R c Part, -SiR a R b CR c R d R e Part, -CR a R b SiR c R d R e Part, -SiR a R b GeR c R d R eA portion is independently selected from a portion comprising carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, or tin atoms, or any combination thereof, wherein each atom in the carbon atoms, silicon atoms, germanium atoms, tin atoms, or any combination thereof is completely saturated by having four bonds, and the four bonds are each substituent R a ~R x The bond is with R, or with at least one other atom from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof, and up to 10 atoms from the carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, tin atom, or any combination thereof are R a ~R x It is different from any carbon atom, silicon atom, germanium atom, or tin atom, R a ~R x However, R is independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, alkyl, or aryl groups. x x is R a An apparatus of any of embodiments 21 to 29 that refers to something different from a.

[0111] The information and signals described herein can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, codes, and chips that can be shown through the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof. Even if a diagram shows a signal as a single signal, such a signal can represent a bus of signals, and such a bus can have a variety of bit widths.

[0112] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural form unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context.

[0113] As used herein, "and / or" includes any one or more of the items listed therein, and any combination thereof.

[0114] As used herein, the term “substantially” (or “almost”) means that the given parameter, characteristic, or condition has some degree of variability (e.g., acceptable manufacturing tolerances) as would be obvious to those skilled in the art, and encompasses such degree of variability. For example, if a particular parameter, characteristic, or condition is substantially (almost) met, then such parameter, characteristic, or condition can be said to be at least 90.0% met, at least 95.0% met, at least 99% met, or at least 99.9% met.

[0115] When used herein, spatially relative terms, such as “adjacent,” “below,” “downward,” “lower,” “bottom,” “up,” “above,” “upper,” “front,” “backward,” “left,” and “right,” may be used to facilitate the description of the relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature(s) as shown in the illustration. Unless otherwise specified, spatially relative terms are intended to encompass alternative orientations of the material in addition to those shown in the illustration. For example, an element described as “downward,” “below,” “below,” or “at the bottom” relative to another element or feature will be “upward” or “above” relative to the other element or feature if the material in the illustration is reversed. Thus, the term “downward” can encompass both “upward” and “downward” orientations, depending on the context in which the term is used, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The material may be oriented in a different way (e.g., rotated 90 degrees, flipped, reversed), and spatially relative terms as used herein will be interpreted accordingly.

[0116] As used herein, the term “electronic device” may include, but is not limited to, memory devices and semiconductor devices (which may or may not incorporate memory such as logic devices, processor devices, or radio frequency (RF) devices). Furthermore, an electronic device may incorporate other functions in addition to memory (e.g., a so-called system-on-a-chip (SoC) including a processor and memory, or an electronic device including logic and memory). An electronic device may also be a 3D electronic device (e.g., a 3D dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a 3D crosspoint memory device, or a 3D phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) device).

[0117] As used herein, the term “substrate” means and includes a base material or structure on which components (e.g., components of a semiconductor device or electronic device) are formed. A substrate can be a semiconductor substrate, a base material, a semiconductor base material on a support structure, a metal electrode, or a semiconductor substrate on which one or more materials, structures, or regions are formed. A substrate can be a conventional silicon substrate or another bulk substrate containing semiconductor material. As used herein, the term “bulk substrate” means and includes not only a silicon wafer, but also a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate (e.g., a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) substrate or a silicon-on-glass (SOG) substrate), an epitaxial layer of silicon on a semiconductor base material, or other semiconductor or optoelectronic materials (in particular, for example, silicon germanium (Si)). 1-x Ge x ,x is, for example, a mole fraction of 0.2 to 0.8), and also means and includes germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), or indium phosphide (InP). Furthermore, when "substrate" is mentioned in the following description, there may already be materials, regions, or junctions formed in or on the semiconductor's basic structure or base by a previous process stage.

[0118] As used herein, the terms “layer” and “level” refer to the structure (e.g., layers, sheets) of a geometric structure (e.g., on a substrate). Each layer or level may have three dimensions (e.g., height, width, and depth) and may cover at least a portion of the surface. For example, a layer or level may be a three-dimensional structure (e.g., a thin film) in which two dimensions are greater than the third dimension. Layers or levels may contain different elements, components, or materials. In some examples, a single layer or level may consist of two or more sublayers or sublevels.

[0119] As used herein, the term “electrode” can refer to a conductor, and in some examples, it may be used as an electrical contact to a memory cell or other component of a memory array. Examples of electrodes include wiring, wires, conductive lines, conductive layers, and materials that provide conductive paths between components of a memory array.

[0120] Devices described herein, such as memory arrays, can be formed on a semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, etc.). In some examples, the substrate is a semiconductor wafer. In other examples, the substrate can be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate (e.g., silicon-on-glass (SOG) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOP)) or an epitaxial layer of semiconductor material on another substrate. The conductivity of the substrate or subregions of the substrate can be controlled by doping with various chemical species (e.g., phosphorus, boron, or arsenic, etc., but not limited to these). Doping can be carried out by ion implantation or by any other doping means during the initial formation or growth of the substrate.

[0121] The descriptions provided herein with respect to the accompanying drawings are illustrative and do not represent all possible examples or all examples included in the claims. The term “exemplary” as used herein means “useful as an example, case, or illustration,” and does not mean “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” Modes for carrying out the invention include specific details for understanding the described art. However, such art may be carried out without such specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and apparatus are shown in block diagram form to avoid ambiguity of the conceptual examples presented in the specification.

[0122] In the attached diagrams, similar components or features may be represented by the same reference numeral. Furthermore, various components of the same type may be distinguished by a dash following the reference numeral, or by the addition of a second reference numeral to distinguish similar components. When only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the applicable description applies to any similar component having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second reference numeral.

[0123] The functions described herein can be implemented by hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software executed by a processor, such functions can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions (e.g., code) on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and embodiments exist within the scope of this disclosure and the accompanying claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the mechanism for implementing the function can be physically located in various locations. For example, such locations can be distributed so that parts of the function are implemented in different physical locations.

[0124] For example, various exemplary blocks and modules shown in connection with the disclosure herein can be implemented or carried out by a processor (e.g., a DSP, ASIC, FPGA, discrete gate logic, discrete transistor logic, discrete hardware component, other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein). The processor may be a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, state machine, or any other type of processor. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0125] In this specification, including the claims, the “or” used in an enumeration of items (for example, “or” used in an enumeration ending with a phrase such as “at least one of the following” or “one or more of the following”) indicates an inclusive enumeration, for example, the enumeration “at least one of A, B, or C” indicates A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, the phrase “based on” used herein should not be construed as referring to a limited set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as “based on condition A” may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, the phrase “based on” used herein shall be construed in the same way as the phrase “at least partially based on.”

[0126] Computer-readable media encompass both non-temporary computer storage media and communication media. These include, for example, any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. Non-temporary storage media can be any available media accessible by a computer. Without limitation, non-temporary computer-readable media may include, for example, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk (CD)ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-temporary media that can be used to transport or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that are accessible by a computer or processor. Any connection is also appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio waves, and microwaves), such coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio waves, and microwaves) are included in the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks (disk and cisc) include CDs, laserdiscs, optical discs, digital multipurpose discs, floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where the disc typically reproduces data magnetically or optically with a laser. Any combination of the above is also included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0127] The descriptions herein are provided so that those skilled in the art can implement or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles set forth herein can be applied to other different forms without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, this disclosure should be recognized as having the broadest scope that is consistent with the principles and new features disclosed herein, and not limited to the examples and designs described herein.

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