Compounds are synthesized with bicyclic amidinate ligands attached to one or more
metal atoms. These compounds are useful for the synthesis of materials containing metals. Examples include
pure metals,
metal alloys,
metal oxides, metal nitrides, metal phosphides, metal sulfides, metal selenides, metal tellurides, metal borides, metal carbides, metal silicides and metal germanides. Techniques for materials synthesis include vapor deposition (
chemical vapor deposition and
atomic layer deposition), liquid solution methods (
sol-gel and
precipitation) and
solid-state
pyrolysis.
Copper metal films are formed on heated substrates by the reaction of
copper(I) bicyclic amidinate vapor and
hydrogen gas, whereas reaction with
water vapor produces
copper oxide. Silver and gold films were deposited on surfaces by reaction of their respective bicyclic amidinate vapors with
hydrogen gas. Reaction of
cobalt(II) bis(bicyclic amidinate) vapor,
ammonia gas and
hydrogen gas deposits
cobalt metal films on heated substrates, while reaction with
ammonia produces
cobalt nitride and reaction with
water vapor produces
cobalt oxide.
Ruthenium metal films are deposited by reaction of
ruthenium(II) bis(bicyclic amidinate) or
ruthenium(III)
tris(bicyclic amidinate) at a heated surface either with or without a co-reactant such as hydrogen gas or
ammonia or
oxygen. Suitable applications include electrical interconnects in
microelectronics and magnetoresistant
layers in magnetic
information storage devices.
Hafnium oxide films are deposited by reaction of
hafnium(IV) tetrakis(bicyclic amidinate) with
oxygen sources such as water,
hydrogen peroxide or
ozone. The HfO2 films have high
dielectric constant and
low leakage current, suitable for applications as an insulator in
microelectronics. The films have very uniform thickness and complete step coverage in narrow holes.