Electron stimulated decomposition of adsorbed hexafluoroacetylacetonate Cu(I) vinyltrimethylsilane, Cu(I)(hfac)(vtms)

The effect of a low energy electron beam on the decomposition of hexafluoroacetylacetonate Cu(I) vinyltrimethylsilane (Cu(I) precursor) on the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface at room temperature has been studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. It was found that electron bombardment causes the decomposition of the Cu(I) precursor and an electron energy threshold for decomposition was found to be 4 +/- 0.5 eV. This result demonstrates that the decomposition of the Cu(I) precursor in the threshold region occurs through a dissociative electron attachment mechanism. Elemental composition studies of the grown films show that they are contaminated with carbon, and that the copper fraction is increased in the film compared to the precursor composition. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)02106-4].