(1,3-di-tert-butyltriazenide) Cu(I) as vapor deposition precursor

Abstract: In the past few decades, devices such as computers have become smaller, and their performance has improved beyond comparison. Semiconductors and interconnectors are used in almost all devices today and are made of thin films. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are common methods for depositing conformal films, where the film grows by being exposed to precursors either continuously as in CVD or by pulses as is pulsed CVD and ALD. It has been reported that Cu amidinate and guanidinate are precursors for depositing metallic Cu (Copper), but they tend to decompose. Precursors that are thermally stable and can be used to deposit a thin film of Cu are (1,3-di-tert-butyltriazenides) copper(I) (Cu-triazenides). This precursor has been synthesized and developed by the Pedersen Group in the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM) at Linköpings University. This thesis investigates if Cu-triazenides are suitable as vapor deposition precursors using pulsed CVD and if Cu-triazenides are suitable as an ALD precursor with H2O as the second precursor. The main objective of this thesis is to focus on films deposited with ALD by finding the ALD window that gives a growth per cycle and making a saturation curve for each precursor. Si(100) and glass were used as the substrate, and SEM-EDX (Scanning electron microscopy- Energy- dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), and XRR (X-ray reflectivity) analyzed the chemical, physical and, optical properties of the films. The Cu-triazenides were suitable as single-source precursors, as films were deposited with pulsed CVD on both Si(100) and glass. ALD deposited no film on Si(100) between the temperature 175–300 °C, and the analysis methods did not provide information on the thickness and composition of the films deposited on the glass.