Chemical Vapor Deposition of Strontium Ruthenate Thin Films from Bis(2, 4-Dimethylpentadienyl) Ruthenium and Bis(Tetramethylheptanedionato) Strontium

Abstract

ABSTRACTAdherent, polycrystalline films containing mixtures of SrRuO3, Sr2gRuO4 and RuO2 were deposited on silicon and alumina substrates by hot wall chemical vapor deposition from bis(2, 4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium and Sr(thd)2 between 650 and 700°C. The as-deposited mixed phase films, which contained polycrystalline phases of RuO2 and amorphous phases of the mixed oxide exhibited resistivities between 6.5 and 20 mΩcm. Rims were annealed at 1000°C under oxygen/argon ambient. The annealed films exhibited higher resistivities than their as-deposited counterparts and a substrate dependence of phases present was observed. The decrease in conductivity upon annealing for films on both substrates is attributed to the formation of volatile ruthenium oxides. The higher conductivity of post-annealed samples on alumina (compared to samples prepared and annealed on Si) is attributed to Sr uptake by the substrate and thus a suppression of Sr2RuO4 formation.