Disproportionation of dimethylalane on aluminum surfaces. Part I. Experimental studies

Room-temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition of Aluminum and Aluminum Oxides on Alkanethiolate Self-Assembled Monolayers

“…We note that this process must be much slower than the reactions of the dimethyl aluminum complex with water and oxygen since it is only observed when the deposition chamber has a residual oxygen/water pressure of less than 10 -8 Torr. The aluminum deposition then continues via the dissociative adsorption of TMA on the surface and the evolution of either gaseous methane or methyl radicals. ,,, TMA has a propensity to deposit carbon-contaminated layers on aluminum and other surfaces. , By use of Auger electron spectroscopy, Strongin and Comita 88 observed that polycrystalline Al was carbon contaminated after exposure to TMA and heating to >350 K. Further, Willis and Jensen 65 also found that after TMA exposure above 600 K an AlC x phase grew on Al (100) and (111) with a stoichiometry close to Al 4 C 3 . Such phases are not observed here; TOF SIMS and ex situ XPS measurements indicate that there is no aluminum carbide present in these films.…”

“…28 Trimethylaluminum (TMA) is a well-known atomic layer deposition precursor that is employed commercially to deposit compound semiconductors, alumina, and nitrides on surfaces. 65,66 Alumina thin films have many applications including dielectrics, in wear-resistant coatings, and to improve the gas permeation properties of polymers. 66 In this paper we demonstrate that TMA can be employed at room temperature to deposit both alumina and aluminum on functionalized alkanethiolate SAMs adsorbed on Au.…”

“…65,88 By use of Auger electron spectroscopy, Strongin and Comita 88 observed that polycrystalline Al was carbon contaminated after exposure to TMA and heating to >350 K. Further, Willis and Jensen 65 also found that after TMA exposure above 600 K an AlC x phase grew on Al (100) and (111) with a stoichiometry close to Al 4 C 3 . Such phases are not observed here; TOF SIMS and ex situ XPS measurements indicate that there is no aluminum carbide present in these films.…”

Materials Chemistry of Group 13 Nitrides

“…The theoretical treatment of reactions of molecular, chemically adsorbed precursors and their fragments on "real" surfaces has not really been tackled yet, because of the enormous amount of numerical effort that is necessary to treat these complex systems. However, one very interesting work not related to nitride synthesis is the combined experimental and theoretical investigation of Me 2 AlH decomposition on a pure Al surface by Willis et al [99,100], which nicely shows the direction theoretical investigations should take in the near future.…”

Advances in the deposition chemistry of metal-containing thin films using gas phase processes

“…Although the disproportionation reaction pathway was already reported for the growth of metallic aluminium 20 and antimony, 21 most investigations concern the growth of copper [22][23][24] Cu (II) (b-diketonate) 2 and the Lewis base. Therefore, these byproducts can desorb intact from the deposition surface, resulting in copper films that are free from carbon contamination.…”