Atomic Layer Deposition of CeO Film with a Novel Heteroleptic Ce(III) Complex.

In this paper, four heteroleptic Ce(III) complexes, including Ce(thd)-phen (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione, phen = 1, 10-phenanthroline (), Ce(thd)-MEDA (MEDA = N-Methylethylenediamine (), Ce(thd)-MOMA (MOMA = N-(2-Methoxyethyl)methylamine (), and Ce(thd)-DMDE (DMDE = ,″-dimethyl ethanol amine (), were synthesized and characterized with H-NMR, elemental analysis, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The thermogravimetric analysis and vapor pressure results indicated that the complexing ability of a nitrogen-containing bidentate ligand with a cerium ion was stronger than that of a mixed oxygen-nitrogen-containing bidentate ligand. Complex was selected as an ALD precursor to deposit a CeO film on a SiO/Si (100) wafer. The self-limited deposition results demonstrated that complex was a potential ALD precursor.