Low-temperature deposition of films from tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium and ammonia

Abstract We report the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and characterization of thin films grown from the reaction of tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium (Ti(NMe 2 ) 4 , TDMAT) with NH 3 at 423 K. These films, deposited on a variety of substrates, are amorphous except for a small number of embedded nanocrystallites. The films exhibit peeling at thicknesses greater than ca. 200 nm on all substrates and show no visible evidence of etching after exposure to concentrated hydrochloric or nitric acid for 5 min. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results yield a N/Ti ratio of 0.89 after normalizing the data to that of a TiN standard. The O/Ti ratio varies from 0.26 to 0.66, and the C content is less than 1 at.%. Transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of films deposited on Si gives spectra consistent with the presence of N–H bonds.