Aerosol‐Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition of Transparent Zinc Gallate Films

Abstract

Aerosol‐assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) reactions of GaMe3, ZnEt2 and the donor‐functionalised alcohol HOCH2CH2OMe (6 equiv.) in toluene resulted in the deposition of amorphous transparent zinc gallate (ZnGa2O4) films at a range of temperatures (350–550 °C). The zinc–gallium oxide films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, glancing‐angle X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD) and optical studies. The optimum growth temperature was found to be 450 °C, which produced transparent films with excellent coverage of the substrate. XPS confirmed the presence of zinc, gallium and oxygen in the films. Annealing these films at 1000 °C resulted in crystalline films and glancing‐angle powder XRD showed that a zinc gallate spinel framework with a lattice parameter of a=8.336(5) Å was adopted.

Solution based CVD of main group materials

“…[156][157][158] Accessible through facile synthetic routes, 159 Recently, the use of these precursors for the deposition of spinel materials via AACVD has been reported. 162,163 However, attempts to synthesise compounds of the type [GaX(O 2 {R}) 2 ] (X = Cl, Me, H) for use in CVD failed and this further evidenced the thermodynamic stability of the homoleptic tris(b-diketonates) which formed instead. 164 Despite excellent solubility, the stability of gallium b-diketonates has meant that they are not ideal precursors for use in AACVD.…”

Synthesis and characterisation of novel aluminium and gallium precursors for chemical vapour deposition

“…Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of group 13 metal oxide thin films have been much studied over the last decade. [1][2][3][4][5] In many cases particular attention has been drawn to the design of ligand systems in order to facilitate cleaner decomposition, thus reducing contamination, increasing the volatility and solubility of precursors such that the properties of the resultant films are improved. It is well known that a bulkier R group may improve solubility but will add to carbon contamination, for example, so it is important to find the right combination of attributes to best yield the desired material.…”

The effect of solvent on Al-doped ZnO thin films depositedviaaerosol assisted CVD

“…This could be due to an increase in carbon contamination from the different solvents, which is known to cause a visible darkening in thin films. 37 It is worth noting that MeOH has the lowest boiling point of any of the solvents used for this study ( Table 1 ). This could indicate that MeOH is more likely to evaporate prior to reaching the substrate surface, compared to the other solvents.…”