# Atomic layer deposition: building a film one layer per cycle

> Atomic layer deposition of alumina drawn as a coil, one turn per cycle: a trimethylaluminium pulse, a purge, a water pulse and a purge, each half-reaction stopping by itself, so every cycle adds the same sub-monolayer. Below, the self-limiting chemistry, conformal coating of deep trenches and particles, and uses in chips, batteries and catalysts.

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- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Trimethylaluminium (TMA) and water vapour, pulsed in turn with purges between
- Product: A conformal amorphous Al₂O₃ film whose thickness is set by the number of cycles
- Key result: 1.4–1.5 Å/cycle inside 12 m × 0.53 mm capillaries (Patel et al. 2022); within 2.5% over 0.9 m (Fryauf et al. 2018); 14 nm Al₂O₃ on Li (Kozen et al. 2015)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 122 editable layers (4 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **TMA pulse**: The precursor reacts with the surface until the reactive sites are used up: self-limiting chemisorption (Oviroh et al. 2019)
2. **Purge**: Purge gas clears the excess precursor and by-products (methane, in the TMA reaction) before the next pulse (Oviroh et al. 2019)
3. **Water pulse and purge**: The second half-reaction completes the layer; TMA and water is the most widely used ALD chemistry and gives amorphous Al₂O₃ (Young et al. 2020)
4. **Repeat**: Each cycle adds the same (sub)monolayer: 1.4–1.5 Å per cycle for TMA/water alumina in long capillaries (Patel et al. 2022)
5. **Uses**: Conformal gate oxides and DRAM capacitors (Oviroh et al. 2019), 14 nm Al₂O₃ protecting lithium metal (Kozen et al. 2015), overcoats that stop copper catalysts sintering (O’Neill et al. 2013)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on atomic layer deposition and thin films
- Talks on conformal coatings in microelectronics and batteries
- Teaching self-limiting surface chemistry

## References

1. Oviroh et al., “New development of atomic layer deposition: processes, methods and applications”, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/14686996.2019.1599694 (review)
2. Patel et al., “Flow-Through Atmospheric Pressure-Atomic Layer Deposition Reactor for Thin-Film Deposition in Capillary Columns”, Anal. Chem. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c05029 (primary)
3. Young et al., “Probing the Atomic-Scale Structure of Amorphous Aluminum Oxide Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c01905 (primary)
4. Fryauf et al., “Scaling Atomic Layer Deposition to Astronomical Optic Sizes: Low-Temperature Aluminum Oxide in a Meter-Sized Chamber”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b10457 (primary)
5. Kozen et al., “Next-Generation Lithium Metal Anode Engineering via Atomic Layer Deposition”, ACS Nano 2015. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b02166 (primary)
6. O'Neill et al., “Stabilization of copper catalysts for liquid-phase reactions by atomic layer deposition”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201308245 (primary)
7. Madadi et al., “Atomic and Molecular Layer Deposition of Alkali Metal Based Thin Films”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c17519 (review)
8. George, Yoon & Dameron, “Surface chemistry for molecular layer deposition of organic and hybrid organic-inorganic polymers”, Acc. Chem. Res. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1021/ar800105q (further reading)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Oviroh et al., Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 2019 (doi:10.1080/14686996.2019.1599694); Patel et al., Anal. Chem. 2022 (doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c05029); Fryauf et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018 (doi:10.1021/acsami.8b10457); Kozen et al., ACS Nano 2015 (doi:10.1021/acsnano.5b02166); O’Neill et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013 (doi:10.1002/anie.201308245).

## Questions

**What does the “Atomic layer deposition: building a film one layer per cycle” template show?** Atomic layer deposition of alumina drawn as a coil, one turn per cycle: a trimethylaluminium pulse, a purge, a water pulse and a purge, each half-reaction stopping by itself, so every cycle adds the same sub-monolayer. Below, the self-limiting chemistry, conformal coating of deep trenches and particles, and uses in chips, batteries and catalysts.

**What are the steps shown in “Atomic layer deposition: building a film one layer per cycle”?** 1. TMA pulse: The precursor reacts with the surface until the reactive sites are used up: self-limiting chemisorption (Oviroh et al. 2019). 2. Purge: Purge gas clears the excess precursor and by-products (methane, in the TMA reaction) before the next pulse (Oviroh et al. 2019). 3. Water pulse and purge: The second half-reaction completes the layer; TMA and water is the most widely used ALD chemistry and gives amorphous Al₂O₃ (Young et al. 2020). 4. Repeat: Each cycle adds the same (sub)monolayer: 1.4–1.5 Å per cycle for TMA/water alumina in long capillaries (Patel et al. 2022). 5. Uses: Conformal gate oxides and DRAM capacitors (Oviroh et al. 2019), 14 nm Al₂O₃ protecting lithium metal (Kozen et al. 2015), overcoats that stop copper catalysts sintering (O’Neill et al. 2013).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Trimethylaluminium (TMA) and water vapour, pulsed in turn with purges between. Product: A conformal amorphous Al₂O₃ film whose thickness is set by the number of cycles.

**Which papers is “Atomic layer deposition: building a film one layer per cycle” based on?** Oviroh et al., “New development of atomic layer deposition: processes, methods and applications”, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 2019 (doi:10.1080/14686996.2019.1599694); Patel et al., “Flow-Through Atmospheric Pressure-Atomic Layer Deposition Reactor for Thin-Film Deposition in Capillary Columns”, Anal. Chem. 2022 (doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c05029); Young et al., “Probing the Atomic-Scale Structure of Amorphous Aluminum Oxide Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020 (doi:10.1021/acsami.0c01905); Fryauf et al., “Scaling Atomic Layer Deposition to Astronomical Optic Sizes: Low-Temperature Aluminum Oxide in a Meter-Sized Chamber”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018 (doi:10.1021/acsami.8b10457); Kozen et al., “Next-Generation Lithium Metal Anode Engineering via Atomic Layer Deposition”, ACS Nano 2015 (doi:10.1021/acsnano.5b02166); O'Neill et al., “Stabilization of copper catalysts for liquid-phase reactions by atomic layer deposition”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013 (doi:10.1002/anie.201308245); Madadi et al., “Atomic and Molecular Layer Deposition of Alkali Metal Based Thin Films”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021 (doi:10.1021/acsami.1c17519); George, Yoon & Dameron, “Surface chemistry for molecular layer deposition of organic and hybrid organic-inorganic polymers”, Acc. Chem. Res. 2009 (doi:10.1021/ar800105q).

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