Improved growth behavior of atomic-layer-deposited high-k dielectrics on multilayer MoS2 by oxygen plasma pretreatment.

We report on the effect of oxygen plasma treatment of two-dimensional multilayer MoS2 crystals on the subsequent growth of Al2O3 and HfO2 films, which were formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using trimethylaluminum and tetrakis-(ethylmethylamino)hafnium metal precursors, respectively, with water oxidant. Due to the formation of an ultrathin Mo-oxide layer on the MoS2 surface, the surface coverage of Al2O3 and HfO2 films was significantly improved compared to those on pristine MoS2, even at a high ALD temperature. These results indicate that the surface modification of MoS2 by oxygen plasma treatment can have a major impact on the subsequent deposition of high-k thin films, with important implications on their integration in thin film transistors.