Solution Reactivity Studies for Identification of Promising New ALD and Pulsed CVD Reaction Chemistries

Solution screening reactions are described for a range of copper(II) and nickel(II) precursors in combination with the co-reagents AlMe3, ZnEt2, BEt3, Si2Me6, Sn2Me6 and B2(Pin)2 (Pin = pinacolate). These screening reactions were used to identify particularly promising precursor/co reagent combinations for copper or nickel metal deposition, and subsequent ALD/pulsed-CVD studies are described for selected cases. NMR spectroscopic studies focused on elucidating the reaction pathways responsible for copper metal deposition from solution are also described. This manuscript reviews and expands upon previously reported work (B. Vidjayacoumar, D. J. H. Emslie, J. M. Blackwell and S. B. Clendenning et al., Chem. Mater., 2010, 22, 4844-4853 and 4854-4866).