Characterization of Silver Trimethylacetate Complexes with Tertiary Phosphines as CVD Precursors of Thin Silver Films

AgI complexes [Ag(O2CtBu)(PMe3)] (1) and [Ag(O2CtBu)(PEt3)] (2) were used as CVD precursors. Silver films between 30 nm and 100 nm were deposited from the above compounds using hot-wall and cold-wall CVD techniques on Si(111) and Si(100) substrates in the temperature range 180-220 °C, under the reactor pressure 1–3 mbar. Metallic films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and conductivity measurements.