Metal Ir films were prepared by spray chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in air from an Ir precursor, (1,3-cyclohexadiene)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)iridium, Ir(EtCp)(CHD). Film deposition was ascertained at 270–430°C on a SiO2/Si substrate and the deposition rate increased with the deposition temperature but was saturated above 330°C. The obtained films consisted of Ir metal without any iridium oxide impurity irrespective of the deposition temperature. Films tended to orient to (111) with increasing deposition temperature. Resistivity of these Ir films decreased with increasing film thickness and reached to values on the order of 10-6 Ω・cm, which was the same order of the values for bulk Ir metal. Good step coverage was observed for the Ir metal films deposited at 270°C and 330°C. This shows that the simple spray CVD process in air is a good candidate for depositing Ir metal films with good conductivity and step coverage.

Thermal properties of five divalent ruthenium precursors with three types of structures were examined by thermal analyses. Their volatilities and the relationships between their structure and thermal stability were compared by TG analysis. Precursor volatility was found to be inversely proportional to molecular weight. The DSC result showed that substituting a linear pentadienyl ligand for a cyclopentadienyl ligand decreased the thermal stability of a precursor and precursors could be liquefied by attaching an alkyl group longer than methyl group to a Cp ligand. As a result of TG-MS analyses for Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) and Ru(EtCp)2, 2,4-dimethyl-1,3-pentadiene was found to be a thermolysis product of Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) though no thermolysis products of Ru(EtCp)2 were observed. These results show that the volatility and decomposition temperature of a divalent ruthenium precursor can be designed by adjusting the precursor's structure.

A novel liquid iridium precursor (1,3-cyclohexadiene)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)iridium, Ir(EtCp)(CHD), was synthesized and its physical properties were examined. Ir(EtCp)(CHD) exhibited enough vapor pressure (0.1 Torr/75°C), excellent volatility and adequate decomposition temperature. Characteristics of the Ir films deposited using Ir(EtCp)(CHD) and the conventional Ir precursor (1,5-cyclooctadiene)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)iridium, Ir(EtCp)(COD), by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method were compared. Ir films grown using Ir(EtCp)(CHD) showed shorter incubation time and higher nucleation density than those of films using Ir(EtCp)(COD).

Ruthenium thin films were deposited on SiO2/Si substrates at 275 – 400 °C by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using liquid precursor (2.4-dimethylpentadienyl)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium [Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) DMPD: 2.4-dimethylpentadienyl EtCp: etylcyclopentadienyl]. Deposition characteristics of the films were compared with those using bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium.

The decomposition temperature of Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) was 80 °C lower than Ru(EtCp)2. Both films consisted of Ru single phase for all deposition temperature range and showed an resistivity bellow 20 μΩcm for the films deposited above 300 °C. The initial nucleation of Ru films from Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) precursor was smaller in size and denser than that from Ru(EtCp)2. The deposition process from Ru(DMPD)(EtCp) has much shorter incubation time than that from Ru(EtCp)2.