Metal-organic chemical vapour deposition of Nd(2/3) Cu(3)Ti(4)O(12) films

The discovery of the so called "giant dielectric permittivity phenomenon" in CaCu(3)Ti(4)O(12) (CCTO) perovskyte-related material reaching dielectric constant values up to 10(5) at room temperature, has generated a large interest for this material and related compounds. In this context, the study of the related oxide materials can be of great interest. In this work, we report on the results of a recent study of the deposition of Nd(2/3)Cu(3)Ti(4)O(12) (NCTO) thin films on Pt/TiO(2)/SiO(2)/Si(100) stacks by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD). Nd(2/3)Cu(3)Ti(4)O(12) thin films have been deposited using a novel molten multi-metal source, ;onsisting of the Ti(tmhd)(2)(O-iPr)(2), Nd(hfa)(3)center dot diglyme, and Cu(tmhd)(2) (H-tmhd=2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptandione; O-iPr= iso-propoxide; H-hfa=1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione; diglyme= CH(3)O(CH(2)CH(2)O)(2)CH(3)) precursor mixture. The structural and morphological characterization of films has been carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Chemical compositional studies have been performed by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Structural and morphological characterizations point to formation of thin films having the correct stoichiometry and a sharp film/substrate interface structure