Precursors of formula [Ce(hfac) 3 {MeO(CH 2 CH 2 O) n Me}], 1 (n ) 1), 2 (n ) 2), and 3 (n ) 3), and [{Ce(hfac) 3 } 2 {µ-MeO(CH 2 CH 2 O) 4 Me}], 4 (hfac ) CF 3 COCHCOCF 3 ), have been prepared and used as precursors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of films of cerium oxides on the substrates Si, Pt, and TiN. Thermal CVD at 450 °C with oxygen as carrier gas gave mixed Ce(III)/Ce(IV) oxides, and the main crystalline component was Ce 4 O 7 , but with fluoride impurity. The fluoride impurity was not observed if CVD was carried out using moist oxygen as carrier gas or if the as-deposited films were annealed in oxygen. Codeposition with [Y(hfac) 3 {MeO(CH 2 CH 2 O) 2 Me}] gave films of the mixed Ce(IV)Y(III) oxide Ce 2 Y 2 O 7 . The depositions of cerium oxides could be enhanced by use of a palladium precursor catalyst [Pd(2-methylallyl)(acetylacetonate)] and could then be carried out at 250 °C, giving films of CeO 2 . Under carefully controlled conditions, films of ceria-supported palladium could be prepared by this method. The films were characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques.

The complexes [Ta(OEt) 4 (β-diketonate)] (β-diketonate ) acetylacetonate, 2; hexafluoroacetylacetonate , 3; 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetonate, 4; dipivaloylmethanate, 5; 2,2-dimethyl-6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-3,5-octanedionate, 6) are established as volatile liquid precursors for low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of films of tantalum(V) oxide. They give thermal CVD at a slightly lower temperature than the commonly used precursor [{Ta-(OEt) 5 } 2 ], 1. In all cases, the CVD at 300-450 °C gives amorphous films of Ta 2 O 5 , which crystallize on annealing at 800 °C under oxygen. Promotion of Ta 2 O 5 film formation is established using catalyst-enhanced CVD with a palladium precursor as "catalyst" and the minimum CVD temperature is then reduced to 200 °C.

The interaction of the silver chemical vapor deposition precursor (1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-7,7-dimethyl-4,6-octanedionato)(trimethylphosphine)silver(I), [(fod)AgP(CH3)3], with a polyurethane surface has been investigated with reflection−absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The RAIR spectra show a decrease of the intensity of both polyurethane CO and N−H vibrational bands at 90, 300, and 340 K. This suggests that a specific interaction occurs between [(fod)Ag(PMe3)] and polyurethane carbonyl groups at the surface, leading to the displacement of [P(CH3)3]. After exposure of polyurethane to the Ag complex at room temperature and above, XPS shows the presence only of Ag, F, and O, indicating displacement of [P(CH3)3] groups. The exposure of the adsorbed (fod)Ag−polyurethane complex to formaldehyde [HCHO] leads to additional deposition of silver and to the formation and the desorption of [1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-7,7-dimethyl-4,6-octanedione], [fodH], from the polyurethane surface. AFM indicates that the silver is present in the form of clusters. Taken together, these data demonstrate the feasibility of low-temperature CVD of silver on organic polymer substrates.

While monoglyme and diglyme reacted with [Y III (hfac) 3 ] to give eight-and nine-co-ordinate neutral complexes [Y(hfac) 3 (glyme)], 1 and 2 respectively, reactions with triglyme or tetraglyme resulted in disproportionation giving the ionic complexes [Y(hfac) 2 (glyme)] ϩ [Y(hfac) 4 ] Ϫ , 3a and 4 respectively; sublimation of 3a with adventitious water gave the outer-sphere glyme complex [Y(hfac) 3 (OH 2 ) 2 ]ؒMeO(CH 2 CH 2 O) 3 Me which has an infinite chain helical structure.

As the technology nodes shrink, device makers are running into barriers with traditional post etch process flows. In the back-end-of-line (BEOL), the porous low-k materials can be damaged by the etch chemistries, the dry ash plasmas and the subsequent cleaning processes. Replacing the dry ash and typical wet cleaning processes with a one step selective solvent-based removal process can work to protect the etched low-k. The solvent-based blend must remove the reactive ion etch (RIE) residues and gap fill material used in the patterning step while preserving the low-k from further damage. This paper will focus on the removal of films and post etch residues in under 2 minutes with a novel solvent formulation.