In this project funded by the Advanced Materials Chemistry Program in the Special Projects Office of the Chemistry Division, Gordon will conduct fundamental research on a low-temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for early transition metals such as titanium, zirconium, or hafnium. The approach will be to synthesize novel precursor compounds containing hydrogenated aromatic ligands which should decompose cleanly into metal hydride films and very stable aromatic byproduct vapors. The metal hydride films would then be dissociated into the metal and hydrogen by heating to higher temperatures. The deposited metals will be fully characterized for composition and structure as well as for thickness, electrical resistance, surface morphology, and step coverage using various spectroscopic and microscopic tools. Since no low-temperature CVD processes are currently known for any of the early transition metals, successful discovery and development of a low-temperature CVD process for deposition of these metals should have an important impact on CVD of semiconductors and non-metals. Various electronic and optical applications, such as solar cells, smart windows, flat-panel displays, corrosion-resistant coatings, and other thin-film applications will be affected.
