Thermal chemistry of Mn2(CO)10 during deposition of thin manganese films on silicon oxide and on copper surfaces

Abstract

The surface chemistry of dimanganese decacarbonyl on the native oxide of Si(100) wafers was characterized with the aid of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Initial experiments in a small stainless-steel reactor identified a narrow range of temperatures, between approximately 445 and 465 K, in which the deposition of manganese could be achieved in a self-limiting fashion, as is desirable for atomic layer deposition. Deposition at higher temperatures leads to multilayer growth, but the extent of this Mn deposition reverses at even higher temperatures (about 625 K), and also ifhydrogen is added to the reaction mixture. Extensive decarbonylation takes place below room temperature, but limited C–O bond dissociation and carbon deposition are still seen after high exposures at 625 K. The films deposited at low (∼450 K) temperatures are mostly in the form of MnO, but at 625 K that converts to a manganese silicate, and upon higher doses a manganese silicide forms at the SiO2/Si(100) interface as well. No metallic manganese could be deposited with this precursor on either silicon dioxide or copper surfaces.