The design and synthesis of heterometallic alkoxide-amides and their application in the MOCVD of zirconium-tin-titanate (ZTT)

Abstract

The novel heterometallic alkoxide-amide species, [Ti{OPrⁱ}₃{N(SnMe₃)₂}] (1), [Ti{OBu^t}₃{N(SnMe₃)₂}] (2), and [Ti{OPrⁱ}₃{N(SnMe₃)(SiMe₃)}] (3) have been synthesized and fully characterized. Compounds 1–3 were used in combination with tetrakis(tert-butoxide)zirconium(IV) to obtain zirconium-tin-titanate (ZTT) films via metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A low-pressure vapor draw (pressure ∼ 5 Torr) was used to deliver the precursor to an oxygen-rich, hot-walled tube furnace (temperature = 430 °C) where metal oxide thin films were deposited on silicon wafers approximately 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm in size. The surface morphology of the as-deposited films has been characterized by SEM, and preliminary XPS measurements indicate that the metals of interest are transported to the substrate surface in the deposition process. The ZTT film grown from a separate vapor draw of 2 and Zr(OBu^t)₄ was determined to have an approximate composition of Zr_0.97Sn_0.12Ti_0.05O_3.33.