Nitrogen incorporation during metal organic chemical vapor deposition of ZnO films using a remote Ar/N2 plasma

Abstract

Nitrogen-containing zinc oxide films were deposited by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique from oxygen/diethylzinc mixtures injected in an argon/nitrogen expanding thermal plasma. Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry measurements suggest that nitrogen is incorporated mostly as -C≡N and segregated at grain boundaries. The correlation between the presence of nitrile bonds and the formation of HCN in the plasma phase points towards an inherent limitation during such deposition process, i.e., when using carbon-rich precursors in a highly reactive nitrogen environment, such as an Ar/N2 expanding thermal plasma. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.