Organic film decomposition

Kusunoki, M., Rokkaku, M., and Suzuki, T. Epitaxial carbon nanotube film self-organized by decomposition of silicon carbide. Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 1997 2620-2622. 

Solution Deposition of Thin Films. Chemical methods of preparation may also be used for the fabrication of ceramic thin films (qv). MetaHo-organic precursors, notably metal alkoxides (see Alkoxides, metal) and metal carboxylates, are most frequently used for film preparation by sol-gel or metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) solution deposition processes (see Sol-GEL technology). These methods involve dissolution of the precursors in a mutual solvent control of solution characteristics such as viscosity and concentration, film deposition by spin-casting or dip-coating, and heat treatment to remove volatile organic species and induce crystaHhation of the as-deposited amorphous film into the desired stmcture. 

The third general classification of solution synthesis approaches used for inorganic electronic thin film fabrication is referred to as metallo-organic decomposition, or MOD for short.23-29,37,38,85 Historically long-chain carboxylate compounds, such as lead 2-ethylhexanoate, zirconium neodecanoate, and titanium di-methoxy di-neodecanoate have been used.23-29,85 Both commercially available precursors and in-house synthesized starting reagents have been used. 

Films at NASA GRC were deposited using homemade spray or aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) reactors to exploit the lower deposition temperature enabled by the simpler decomposition chemistry for the SSPs.6 9 AACVD is a simple and inexpensive process that offers the advantage of a uniform, large-area deposition, just like metal organic CVD (MOCVD), while also offering the low-temperature solution reservoir typical of spray pyrolysis methods. 

Fluorinated poly(imide-ether-amide)s are readily soluble in organic solvents like dimethylformamide (DMF), N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine or tetrahydrofu-ran (THF) and give flexible films by casting of such solutions. These polymers exhibit decomposition temperatures above 360°C, and glass transition temperatures in the 221-246° C range. The polymer films have a low dielectric constant and tough mechanical properties. 

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