High growth per cycle thermal atomic layer deposition of Ni films using an electron-rich precursor.

An efficient process for thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Ni film with high growth per cycle (GPC) value is developed in this study using an electron-rich compound (N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine) (bis(2,4-pentanedionato)) nickel(ii) and anhydrous hydrazine as the reactants. The thermal properties and adsorption behavior of selected compounds were studied. Significantly, a high film GPC value of 2.1 Å per cycle for ALD was achieved, and the deposited film exhibited high purity, low resistivity and a smooth surface. We believe that such an efficient method for high GPC thermal ALD of Ni and even other transition metals will benefit ALD technology development.