Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition of Metal Oxides: from Precursor Synthesis to Thin Films

This contribution describes the synthesis, characterization, and implementation of new lanthanide and main group metal-organic chemical vapor deposition precursors based on the 2,2-dimethyl-5-N-2-methoxyethylimino-3-hexanonato ligand system. The new homoleptic, fluorinefree, low melting, and highly volatile complexes are ideally suited for oxide MOCVD, and in many applications are superior to standard β-diketonates while maintaining ease of synthesis and low cost. This is explicitly demonstrated by the growth of high quality CeO2/YBa2Cu3O7-δ multilayers.