Mechanistic study of the atomic layer deposition of cobalt: a combined mass spectrometric and computational approach.

Cobaltcarbonyl--butylacetylene (CCTBA) is a conventional precursor for the selective atomic layer deposition of Co onto silicon surfaces. However, a limited understanding of the deposition mechanism of such cobalt precursors curbs rational improvements on their design for increased efficiency and tuneable selectivity. The impact of using a less reactive internal alkyne instead of a terminal alkyne was investigated using experimental and computational methods.