Mixed-Anion Compounds: An Unexplored Playground for ALD Fabrication

For decades the most successful approach towards new inorganic material innovations for next-generation devices has been to manipulate the cation composition. As this cation-centric material development is inevitably approaching its saturation, new chemistries are needed to maintain the pace of technological progress. One of the new chemistry approaches is to play with the anions instead of the cations. Moreover, advances in fabrication techniques are needed to address the endeavors to shrink the device and component dimensions. Here, the combination of mixed-anion chemistries, such as oxychalcogenides or carbopnictides, and the state-of-the-art atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin-film technology are highlighted. The unique bottom-up material building mode of ALD can lead to scientifically exciting but at the same time industry-feasible material innovations. In this brief review, the present status and prospects, and the challenges of this emerging field are discussed.