Solid precursor MOCVD of heteroepitaxial rutile phase TiO2

Rutile-phase TiO2 films have been grown on (<11(2)over bar 0>)- and (0001)-oriented sapphire by solid source MOCVD, A growth-rate activation energy of 37 +/- 4 kJ mol(-1), an 0.8-order dependence on the precursor concentration, and a zero-order dependence on oxygen partial pressure are reported for a new Ti precursor, tris(2,2,6,6-telramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) titanium(III). Reduction of the carbon content in the films was accomplished by the addition of excess oxygen in the growth atmosphere. X-ray diffraction spectra show that heteroepitaxial (101) rutile was grown on (<11(2)over bar 0>) sapphire with a Theta rocking curve FWHM of 0.3 degrees for the (101) rutile p peak. The spectra also show that (100) rutile was grown on (0001) sapphire with a Theta rocking curve FWHM of 0.2 degrees for the (100) rutile peak but with misorientation in the planes parallel to the growth plane. The surface morphologies of the films were also examined by SEM, showing a surface roughness of 300 Angstrom as supported by AFM.