Homoleptic Tin and Silicon Amido Compounds as Precursors for Low-Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Tin and Silicon Oxide Thin Films

Abstract

Tin oxide films doped with fluorine or antimony are transparent conductors used in optoelectronic devices and solar cells. Silicon oxide thin films are used as diffusion barriers, passivation layers and dielectric layers in the microelectronics industry. Tin oxide thin films are commonly deposited in atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) processes by hydrolyzing SnCl[sub 4] or by reacting tetramethyltin with oxygen. The APCVD of silicon oxide films normally involves the reaction of ozone or oxygen with SiH[sub 4] or tetraethylorthosilicate. Gordon et al. recently reported the use of main-group amido complexes and ammonia as precursors in the APCVD of main-group nitride thin films. Because the amido precursors are volatile, easily synthesized, and relatively safe to handle, the authors decided to examine their use as precursors to main-group oxide thin films. This paper reports the successful APCVD of tin and silicon oxide from homoleptic dimethylamido complexes, M(NMe[sub 2])[sub 4] (M = Sn, Si), and oxygen at deposition temperatures ranging from 250 to 400[degrees]C. 14 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.