Atmospheric-pressure CVD of vanadium phosphide thin films from reaction of tetrakisdimethylamidovanadium and cyclohexylphosphine

The APCVD of vanadium phosphide from V(NMe2)(4) and cyclohexylphosphine is studied. Silver metallic-like films 50 nm to 300 nm thick are deposited on silica-coated float glass at 400-550 degreesC and their chemical composition and physical properties are examined. Given the all-nitrogen coordination sphere of the metal precursor, there is little or no nitrogen contamination detected. Carbon contamination is also found to be negligible. The paper suggests that this method is more reliable than depositions utilizing VCl4 and that it offers a general route to the deposition of metal phosphides.