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Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of tungsten nitride carbide (W[N.sub.x][C.sub.y]) on methyl terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is studied. SAM substrates give extended transient regimes of different lengths during which the film growth is nonlinear and the ALD films grow in the form of islands and show fractal properties.

The internal stresses of different diamond and diamondlike carbon (DLC) coatings are evaluated. Higher compressive residual stresses in the DLC films are noticed that are also related to their chemical bonding nature as well as their microstructures.

Research into the structure of two series of Co films with thicknesses of between 5 nm and 400 nm is presented. It is concluded that the overall structure of nanometric Co films produced by electrodeposition is made up of a very high qualicy fcc phase and a very faulted hcp phase in around equal proportions.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of tungsten carbide nitride (WC[sub 0.7]N[sub 0.3]) on a low-k (dielectric constant) dielectric aromatic polymer material is investigated. It is feasible to deposit thin WC[sub 0.7]N[sub 0.3] films on polymers, but applying a nitrogen–oxygen (N[sub 2]–O[sub 2]) based plasma to the surface prior to ALD can significantly enhance the growth. The creation of polar surface groups by the plasma treatment is derived from the water contact angle and from O 1s to C 1s peak ratio extracted from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Rutherford backscattering spectra and contact angle measurements revealed a typical ALD growth with at least two successive regimes. The first is controlled by the substrate surface, while during the last a constant amount of ALD material is added with each cycle. The plasma treatments create adsorption sites on the surface and therefore effectively enhance the growth and shorten the duration of the first regime. This observation is attributed to an improved initial ALD precursor adsorption. However, ALD island formation on the treated polymer is not merely a function of the number of available adsorption sites but depends also on the structure and composition of the substrate surface. The minimum thickness of a continuous ALD film is ∼10 nm on untreated polymer while on top of a N[sub 2] rich reactive ion etch plasma-treated polymer the WC[sub 0.7]N[sub 0.3] film becomes continuous between 1.4 and 2.3 nm. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a new approach, which employs the molybdenum seed layers for the enhancement of the nucleation of smooth, as well as the dense nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films. The coating of the films via Si substrate is shown to be extremely beneficial for enhancing the nucleation kinetics of the diamonds on the films.

The growth of tungsten nitride carbide W[N.sub.x][C.sub.y] films obtained from layer deposition using triethylboron, tungsten hexafluoride, and ammonia precursors is determined by the density and type of reactive sites. A transient regime is not observed for W[N.sub.x][C.sub.y] growth on hydrogen-terminated silicon with the initial growth being dominated by the reduction of tungsten hexafluoride to tungsten.