The application of new zirconium precursors for the fabrication of ZrO2 and ZrN thin films by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is presented. The all-nitrogen coordinated Zr precursors exhibit improved thermal properties for vapor phase fabrication of thin films. The growth of ZrO2 thin films was realized by the combination of the Zr complex with oxygen, while the formation of ZrN thin films was achieved for the first time employing a single source precursor (SSP) approach. This was enabled by the presence of nitrogen containing ligands which contributes to the formation of the ZrN phase without the need for any additional nitrogen source in contrast to classical film growth processes for ZrN thin films. In the first step the newly developed precursors were evaluated thoroughly for their use in MOCVD applications, and in the next step they were utilized for the growth of ZrO2 and ZrN thin films on Si(100) substrates. Polycrystalline ZrO2 films that crystallized in the monoclinic phase and the fcc-ZrN films oriented in the (200) direction were obtained, and their structure, morphology, and composition were analyzed by a series of techniques. This work shows the potential of tuning precursors for vapor phase fabrication of Zr containing thin films with a goal of obtaining two different classes of material systems (ZrO2 and ZrN) using one common precursor.

N-doped titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films are grown on Si(100) and indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated borosilicate glass substrates by metal-organic (MO)CVD. The intrinsic doping of TiO 2 thin films is achieved using all-nitrogen-coordinated Ti precursors in the presence of oxygen. The titanium amide-guanidinate complex, [Ti(NMe 2 ) 3 (guan)] (guan ¼ N,N 0 -diisopropyl-2-dimethylamidoguanidinato) has been developed to compensate for the thermal instability of the parent alkylamide [Ti(NMe 2 ) 4 ]. Both of these amide-based compounds are tested and compared as precursors for intrinsically N-doped TiO 2 at various deposition temperatures in the absence of additional N sources. The structure and morphology of TiO 2 thin films are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Rutherford back scattering (RBS), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses are performed to determine N content and distribution in the films. The optical and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO 2 thin films on ITO substrates are also examined. N-doped TiO 2 thin films, grown from [Ti(NMe 2 ) 3 (guan)] at 600 8C, exhibit the lowest optical absorption edge (3.0 eV) and the highest visible light photocurrent response. When compared to undoped TiO 2 , while in UV light photoconversion efficiency decreases significantly, the intrinsically N-doped TiO 2 shows enhanced photocurrents under visible light irradiation.

A new titanium precursor, [Ti(OPri)2(deacam)2] (deacam = N,N-diethylacetoacetamide), was developed by the reaction of the parent Ti alkoxide with the β-ketoamide. The compound, obtained as a monomeric six-coordinated complex, was used in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of TiO2 both as a single source precursor (SSP) and in the presence of oxygen. The high thermal stability of [Ti(OPri)2(deacam)2] enabled the fabrication of TiO2 films over a wide temperature range, with steady growth rates between 500 and 800 °C. The microstructure of the obtained systems was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, whereas atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) measurements were performed to investigate the surface morphology and nanoorganization. Film composition was investigated by complementary techniques like Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The electrical properties of the layers were investigated by performing capacitance voltage (C–V) and leakage current measurements