MOCVD of chalcogenides, pnictides, and heterometallic compounds from single-source molecule precursors

The single-source approach to processing materials as thin films by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) started with pioneering works in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has developed considerably during the late 1980s and the 1990s. The literature contains some review and feature articles dedicated to its application to various types of materials, the most recent ones appearing in the mid 1990s. The present review aims at putting together results obtained for very different materials so as to obtain a comparative view of the different approaches. Faced with the considerable amount of data accumulated over more than twenty years, the scope of this article will be deliberately and arbitrarily limited to those compounds mentioned in the title. Materials consisting of elements from the second row of the periodic table, or binary combinations including one element from the second row, will not be considered here. This article will refer to precursors that have actually been used in MOCVD processes, rather than potential MOCVD sources.