Use of Tetraneopentylchromium as a Precursor for the Organometallic Chemical Vapor Deposition of Chromium Carbide: A Reinvestigation

Thin films of chromium carbide have been grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) from tetraneopentylchromium (Cr[CH2C(CH3)3]4, CrNp4). Deposition was performed in a hot wall, low pressure reactor at 520 and 570-degrees-C and a pressure of 1.33 X 10(-2) Pa (10(-4) Torr). No carrier gas was used. The resulting films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and elastic recoil detection (ERD). These data show that the films are of high quality, with very low oxygen content, and contain some residual amorphous carbon. Films grown at 570-degrees-C are crystalline. The observed crystalline phase is Cr7C3.