Surface Chemistry for Molecular Layer Deposition of Organic and Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Polymers

The fabrication of many devices in modern technol-ogy requires techniques for growing thin films. As devices miniaturize, manufacturers will need to control thin film growth at the atomic level. Because many devices have challenging morphologies, thin films must be able to coat conformally on structures with high aspect ratios. Techniques based on atomic layer depo-sition (ALD), a special type of chemical vapor deposi-tion, allow for the growth of ultra-thin and conformal films of inorganic materials using sequential, self-limit-ing reactions. Molecular layer deposition (MLD) meth-ods extend this strategy to include organic and hybrid organic-inorganic polymeric materials. In this Account, we provide an overview of the sur-face chemistry for the MLD of organic and hybrid organic-inorganic polymers and examine a variety of surface chemistry strat-egies for growing polymer thin films. Previously, surface chemistry for the MLD of organic polymers such as polyamides an