Transition metal amides and imides as precursors to metal nitride and carbonitride thin films via chemical vapor deposition

Transition metal nitrides are known for their hardness and semiconducting properties. These properties have lead to their use as barrier layers, which prevent the diffusion of copper into silicon in gate electrodes. Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) of transition metal nitrides and carbonitrides at low temperatures (200-600 °C), using imido and amido complexes as precursors, has been reported. We have been investigating the synthesis of a range of tungsten imido and amido complexes, and zirconium cyclopentadienyl and amido compounds via transamination and metathesis reactions. We have investigated the potential of the compounds synthesised as single-source precursors to their respective metal nitrides via CVD, involving studies at low pressure (LPCVD) and using an aerosol-assisted (AACVD) technique