Palladium thin films grown by CVD from (1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionato) palladium(II) (vol 3, pg 85, 1997)

The precursor (1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionato) palladium(II) [Pd(hfac)(2)] was used to deposit high-purity, polycrystalline palladium films under low-pressure CVD conditions at high growth rates (1000-4000 Angstrom/min) over a substrate temperature range of 80-200 degrees C in the presence of H-2. Mixing of the precursor and H-2 streams near the substrate was required to avoid reactions of the precursor with H-2 at locations other than the substrate surface. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) showed that the films were impurity free when sufficient H-2 was used. Resistivity values of 20 mu Omega cm were obtained at the higher deposition temperatures (similar to 200 degrees C) while high values of 50 mu Omega cm were observed at the lower deposition temperatures (similar to 90 degrees C). The deposition rate was feed-rate limited even at the lowest deposition temperatures and highest precursor delivery rates, suggesting that even higher deposition rates could be obtained with higher feed rates. A high precursor conversion of 50-60 % was observed. The high surface reaction probability of Pd(hfac)(2) in the presence of H-2 was reflected qualitatively by trench fill studies which showed a greater film thickness on the top of sub-micrometer trenches than in the bottom.