title: Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of ortho-carborane: structural insights and interaction with Cu overlayers.
abstract: X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, UPS) are used to investigate the chemical and electronic structure of boron carbide films deposited from ortho-carborane precursors using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and the reactivity of PECVD films toward sputter-deposited Cu overlayers. The XPS data provide clear evidence of enhanced ortho-carborane reactivity with the substrate, and of extra-icosahedral boron and carbon species; these results differ from results for films formed by condensation and electron beam induced cross-linking of ortho-carborane (EBIC films). The UPS data show that the valence band maximum for PECVD films is ∼1.5 eV closer to the Fermi level than for EBIC films. The XPS data also indicate that PECVD films are resistant to thermally-stimulated diffusion of Cu at temperatures up to 1000 K in UHV, in direct contrast to recently reported results, but important for applications in neutron detection and in microelectronics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Electronic Materials Processing and Integration, 1155 Union Circle #305070, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Robinson
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Frank L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Pasquale
authors.forename: Jeffry A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kelber
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D004058:Diffusion; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D058626:Plasma Gases; D003300:Copper