Chemical vapor deposition of tantalum carbide and carbonitride thin films from Me3CETa(CH2CMe3)3 (E = CH, N)

Abstract

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of thin films employing Me₃CCHTa(CH₂CMe₃)₃ and Me₃CNTa(CH₂CMe₃)₃ as the precursors has been carried out. TaC and TaCN films were deposited at relatively low temperatures (623–923 K). In comparison, using Me₃CNTa(CH₂CMe₃)₃, the TaN bond did not undergo cleavage during the reaction and the N atom was incorporated into the film as nitride. The volatile components evolved were collected and examined by GC–MS, FT-IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Possible decomposition pathways of the tantalum complexes are proposed to rationalize the observation.