Halide CVD of dielectric and ferroelectric oxides

Abstract
Thin films of dielectric and ferroelectric oxide films can be expected to play an increasingly important role in many future applications. Potential applications include areas such as the communication sector, radar, IR detectors, memories, integrated optics and electronics. In this context, a promising preparation method is CVD, where a very important issue is the selection of precursor materials. This choice affects, e. g., the purity of the resulting film and the lowest possible deposition temperature. During the latest years, we have been depositing both dielectric oxides such as TiO₂, Ta₂O₅, ZrO₂, HfO₂ and the ferroelectric Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ phase by halide CVD using iodide precursors. In the present paper, a brief review of these results will be given as well as a comparison with other precursors such as the more comrnonly used chlorides and metalorganics.