Hafnium carbamates and ureates: new class of precursors for low-temperature growth of HfO2 thin films.

Novel volatile compounds of hafnium, namely tetrakis-N,O-dialkylcarbamato hafnium(iv) [Hf((i)PrNC(O)O(i)Pr)(4)] () and tetrakis-N,N,N'-trialkylureato hafnium(iv) [Hf((i)PrNC(O)N-(Me)Et)(4)] (), have been synthesized through the simple insertion reaction of isopropyl isocyanate into hafnium isopropoxide and hafnium ethylmethylamide, respectively; based on the promising thermal properties, compound has been evaluated as a precursor for metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of HfO(2) thin films, which resulted in the growth of stoichiometric and crystalline layers with a uniform morphology at temperature as low as 250 degrees C.