Physical vapor deposition (PVD) refers to the removal of atoms from a solid or a liquid by physical means, followed by deposition of those atoms on a nearby surface to form a thin film or coating. Various approaches and techniques are applied to release the atoms including thermal evaporation, electron beam evaporation, ion-driven sputtering, laser ablation, and cathodic arc-based emission. Some of the approaches are based on a plasma discharge, while in other cases the atoms composing the vapor are ionized either due to the release of the film-forming species or they are ionized intentionally afterward. Here, a brief overview of the various PVD techniques is given, while the emphasis is on sputtering, which is dominated by magnetron sputtering, the most widely used technique for deposition of both metallic and compound thin films. The advantages and drawbacks of the various techniques are discussed and compared.

No description available.

Le projet s’inscrit dans le développement de sources lasers RGB miniaturisées pour l’affichage et la vidéoprojection, la conversion de fréquence dans les cellules solaires.Les verres fluorés ZLAG (ZrF4-LaF3-AlF3-GaF3) codopés terres rares ont été considérés. Ce verre possède une faible énergie de phonon, une forte solubilité des terres rares et peut être fabriqué en couche mince par la technique PVD. Il est de plus le précurseur de vitrocéramiques transparentes. On a observé dans les verres massifs et les guides d’onde des émissions bleue, orange et rouge avec un codopage Pr3+-Yb3+, bleue et rouge avec un co-dopage Tm3+-Yb3+. L’émission RGB dans les verres tri-dopés Tm3+-Er3+-Yb3+ semble prometteuse. Par ailleurs, la vitro-céramisation a permis d’augmenter de plus de 30% les sections efficaces d’absorption des ions Pr3+ et Yb3+.Une efficacité de transfert de 92% a été obtenue dans les verres co-dopés 0,5Pr3+-10Yb3+ pour le processus de conversion d’un photon bleu en deux photons IR. / The project joins in the development of miniaturized laser sources RGB for display and videoprojection, frequency conversion in solar cells.Fluoride glasses ZLAG ( ZrF4-LaF3-AlF3-GaF3) co-doped with rare earths were studied. This glass has a low phonon energy, a strong solubility of the rare earth ions and can be fabricated as thin films by PVD. It is also the precursor of transparent glass-ceramics. Similar emissions in both co-doped bulk and waveguides have been observed ; blue, orange, red emission for Pr3+-Yb3+ and blue, red emission for Tm3+-Yb3+. The RGB emission in bulk Tm3+-Er3+-Yb3+ tri-doped glass seems promising. Furthermore, the absorption cross section of Pr3+ and Yb3+ ions has been increased by 30% with the ceraming process.An energy transfer efficiency (ETE) of 92% has been obtained for co-doped glass with 0,5Pr3+-10Yb3+ for the conversion process of a blue photon into two infrared one.

Die vorliegende Dissertation befasst sich mit dem Wachstum und der Charakterisierung von Silizium- und Germanium-Nanodrähten. Diese Strukturen gelten als aussichtsreiche Komponenten für zukünftige Bauelemente. Für die Anwendung ist die genaue Kenntnis der Größe, der kristallographischen Orientierung und der Position der Nanodrähte erforderlich. Ziel dieser Arbeit war daher die Untersuchung von Si- und Ge-Nanodrähten im Hinblick auf ihre Größe, Orientierung und Position. Die Herstellung erfolgte durch Physikalische Gasphasenabscheidung (PVD) im Ultrahochvakuum nach dem Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS)-Verfahren, das auf dem Wachstum aus Lösungsmitteltröpfchen basiert. Die Größe der Nanodrähte konnte im Falle von Silizium auf Si(111) mit Gold als Lösungsmittel durch die Parameter des Experiments reproduzierbar bestimmt werden. Höhere Goldbedeckung und höhere Substrattemperaturen führten zu Tröpfchen mit größerem Duchmesser und somit zu dickeren Drähten. Längere Si-Verdampfungszeiten und höhere Si-Verdampfungsraten führten zu längeren Drähten. Dünnere Drähte wuchsen schneller als dickere. Als zweites Lösungsmittel wurde Indium untersucht, da es sich im Vergleich zu Gold nicht nachteilig auf die elektronischen Eigenschaften von Silizium auswirkt. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen zur Tröpfchenbildung konnten die besseren Wachstumsresultate mit Gold erklärt werden. Germanium-Nanodrähte, die aus Goldtröpfchen auf Ge(111) gezüchtet wurden, zeigten im Gegensatz zu den Si-Nanodrähten nicht die kristallographische [111]-Orientierung des Substrates, sondern eine -Orientierung, was durch Berechnungen von Keimbildungsenergien auf verschiedenen Kristallflächen erklärt werden konnte. Zur Anordnung von Metalltröpfchen und damit von Nanodrähten wurden Substrate mithilfe von fokussierten Ionenstrahlen (FIB) vorstrukturiert, um die Tröpfchenbildung an bestimmten Stellen zu begünstigen. Es gelang, aus angeordneten Goldtröpfchen epitaktisch gewachsene Si- und Ge-Nanodrähte zu züchten. / This dissertation deals with the growth and the characterization of silicon and germanium nanowhiskers, also called nanorods or nanowires. The investigation of these structures is of great interest as they represent promising building blocks for future electronic devices. With regard to a possible application, the knowledge of size, crystallographic orientation and position of the nanowhiskers is essential. The purpose of this work was, therefore, to investigate the growth of Si and Ge nanowhiskers with regard to their size, orientation and position. The nanowhiskers were grown via physical vapor deposition (PVD) in ultra-high vacuum using the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism which is based on growth from solution droplets. The size of the nanowhiskers could be reproducibly determined by the experimental parameters in the case of Si nanowhiskers on Si(111) with gold as the solvent. A higher gold coverage as well as a higher substrate temperature led to larger droplet diameters and thus to thicker whiskers. A longer silicon evaporation time and a higher silicon rate led to longer whiskers. Thinner whiskers grew faster than thicker ones. A second material used as the solvent was indium as it is more suitable for electronic application compared to gold. Based on results of droplet formation of the two solvents on silicon, the better results of whisker growth using gold could be explained. Ge nanowhiskers grown from gold droplets on Ge(111) did not show the [111] orientation of the substrate as in the case of Si nanowhiskers on Si(111) but a orientation. By calculating nucleation energies on different crystal facets, the experimental findings could be explained. To position nanodroplets of the solvent material and thus to obtain a regular arrangement of nanowhiskers, substrates were pre-structured with nanopores by focused ion beams (FIB). Silicon and germanium nanowhiskers could be epitaxially grown from ordered arrays of gold droplets.

Ces dernières années, les exigences de l'industrie dans le développement de nouveaux matériaux fonctionnels en mesure de résister aux conditions difficiles pendant l'opération d'usinage sont en constante augmentation. Les chercheurs doivent donc trouver de nouvelles solutions pour répondre aux besoins industriels de plus en plus sévères. L’utilisation de revêtement protecteur à la surface de l’outil de coupe est une solution très efficace. Des nouveaux matériaux architecturés sont étudiés pour leurs propriétés mécaniques, physiques et chimiques uniques assurant une résistance aux dégradations de surface dues à la corrosion, l'usure, le frottement; en particulier lorsque ces outils sont utilisés dans des environnements hostiles. Dans le cadre de cette thèse de doctorat, l'influence de la température sur la stabilité structurale de deux types de films minces déposés par PVD a été étudiée. Des films céramiques et de verre métallique ont été envisagés. Afin de préparer et optimiser ces films, le projet s’est axé sur l'étude de l'influence des conditions de dépôt sur les caractéristiques de croissance du film: composition chimique, structure, morphologie, puis sur les changements ultérieurs des principales propriétés des films minces, à savoir la résistance à l’oxydation et à la cristallisation lors de leur utilisation à hautes températures. Une démarche multi-échelle a été développée pour caractériser au mieux les couches. La première partie du travail est liée aux revêtements céramiques à base de CrN pour donner de nouvelles fonctionnalités et améliorer la surface des outils de coupe dans le but essentiel d'accroître leur durée de vie. La seconde partie du manuscrit est dédiée aux films minces de verres métalliques de Zr-Cu préparés par un procédé de co-pulvérisation magnétron PVD. Le but de cette partie consiste en l’étude de la relation entre la structure amorphe de ces films et leurs propriétés mécaniques. La conservation du caractère amorphe de ces films en température présente également un caractère essentiel. Les verres métalliques ont récemment attiré un fort intérêt car ils présentent des propriétés mécaniques intéressantes à température ambiante. Ils présentent, de ce fait, un grand potentiel pour des applications d'ingénierie en raison de leurs caractéristiques mécaniques et physico-chimiques uniques (haute limite élastique, résistance à la corrosion ...). Pour relier les propriétés mécaniques des couches à l’évolution de leurs microstructures, une partie importante de ce travail a porté sur l’observation de l’évolution de la couche au cours du chauffage au moyen de techniques de caractérisation in situ. Les films minces proposés au cours de ce travail peuvent être envisagées pour un large gamme d’application dans l’ingénierie de surface pour protéger les surfaces et améliorer la durée de vie des matériaux. / In the recent years the industrial requirements to develop new functional materials able to overcome the severe conditions during machining operation are continuously increasing. Researchers then must find novel solutions to respond to their severe industrial requirements. To coat the tool surface with advanced coatings is the most efficient solution. New nanostructured materials may nowadays exhibit unique mechanical, physical and chemical properties ensuring notable degradation resistance where the surface protection of materials against corrosion, wear, friction or oxidation is a key issue, particularly when operating in hostile environments. Within the scope of this Ph.D. thesis the influence of the temperature on the structural stability of two different PVD ceramic and metallic glass thin films is proposed. The main goal consists in the development of two distinct classes of thin films, with a wide range of properties. In order to prepare these films, the project will be focused on the study on the influence of PVD deposition conditions in the particular film’s growth characteristics: chemical composition, structure, morphology and the subsequent changes in the main properties of the thin films, namely oxidation and crystallization resistance, especially. For that purpose we adopted the multiscale approach. The first part is related to the ceramic CrN-based coatings to give new functionalities and improve the tools’ surface with the primary aim to increase their lifetime. Secondly, new protective materials able to better protect the exposed surfaces against high temperature oxidation have been proposed, namely CrAlN and CrAlYN coatings as will be evidenced in this manuscript. The second part of the manuscript is dedicated to the innovative Zr-Cu thin films metallic glasses prepared by a PVD magnetron co-sputtering method with the objective to investigate the amorphization ability and their structural properties. Their excellent properties at room temperature have recently attracted attention as a new class of materials with great potential for engineering applications due to unique mechanical and physico-chemical characteristics (high elastic strain limit, corrosion resistance…). Finally, an important approach during the course of this thesis was the real time observation of the structure and surface modifications during heating by means of in situ methods. The thin films proposed during the course of the work could be straightforward used as surface engineering solutions to protect and extend the lifetime of the materials and components.

O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo do tratamento duplex para o biomaterial Nitinol (NiTi). Este tratamento consiste em nitretação a plasma para a formação do nitreto de titânio (TiN), seguido de deposição de um filme fino de nitreto de zircônio (ZrN) sobre a superfície nitretada. O estudo das fases cristalinas presentes no sistema foi realizado pela técnica de difração de raios X (DRX). A morfologia e espessura da camada nitretada e do filme fino depositado foram avaliadas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). As propriedades mecânicas foram estudadas mediante ensaios de nanoindentação. Para avaliar a resistência à corrosão foram realizados testes de polarização potenciodinâmica em solução de saliva artificial. Os resultados mostram que a temperatura de nitretação tem forte influência na formação do TiN na superfície do substrato. O filme de ZrN depositado sobre as amostras nitretadas apresenta propriedades de dureza e resistência à corrosão que dependem da temperatura de nitretação, mesmo tendo sido depositados sem variação de temperatura. Esse comportamento sugere que os filmes são influenciados pela condição inicial da superfície antes da deposição. Os melhores resultados em termos de dureza e resistência à corrosão foram obtidos nas amostras tratadas em temperaturas mais elevadas. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-05T18:07:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Juliane Carla Bernardi.pdf: 2940702 bytes, checksum: 376b73745f740260fc19e7a6e8b5d900 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-05T18:07:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Juliane Carla Bernardi.pdf: 2940702 bytes, checksum: 376b73745f740260fc19e7a6e8b5d900 (MD5) / The present work aims to study about duplex treatment on the biomaterial Nitinol (NiTi). This treatment consists in titanium nitride (TiN) formed by plasma nitration, followed by zirconium nitride (ZrN) thin film deposition upon the nitrated surface. The study of crystalline phases present in the system was performed by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The morphology and thickness of the nitrated layer and thin film were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties were studied by nanoindentation analysis. In order to evaluate corrosive resistance tests of potenciodynamic polarization were performed in solution of saliva artificial. Results demonstrate that nitration temperature has a strong influence in the formation TiN on the substrate surface. The ZrN film depositated upon nitrated samples present hardness and corrosive resistance properties that depend on nitration temperature, even though ZrN films were depositated without temperature variation. This behaviour suggests that films are influenced by the initial surface condition before depositon. The best results in terms of hardness and corrosive resistance were obtained in samples treated at higher temperatures.

The work carried out as a part of this thesis has been focussed on understanding different aspects of the chemical vapor deposition process namely, ALD / MOCVD. A large part of the thesis is aimed at solving the problem of a single-source precursor for the MOCVD process to obtain substituted metal oxide thin films. For a chemical vapor deposition technique, it is important to understand the requisite salient features of precursor for deposition of thin films. For this purpose, not only is the structural characterization of the chemical precursor is required but also an in-depth thermal analysis of the precursor to know its vapor pressure. Vapor pressure of a metalorganic complex is one of the important properties to evaluate the applicability of a metalorganic complex as a MOCV/ALD precursor. The thesis discusses a novel approach to use thermal analysis as a tool to gauge the viability of substituted metal “single source” precursor for MOCVD/ALD. The other half deals with material characterization of thin films grown by an ALD process using hydrogen and Ti(OiPr)2(tbob)2 as precursors. The films were further studied for their potential application as high-k dielectric in DRAM applications. The first chapter is an overview of topics that are relevant to the work carried out in this thesis. The chapter focuses on the description of techniques used for thin film deposition. A detailed review of CVD-type techniques (ALD/ MOCVD) is then given. Chapter1 reviews the various process parameters involved in ALD,i.e. film growth(specifically as a function of the reactant pulse length, the nature of the chemical reactant/precursor and that of the metal precursor, and purge length) and growth temperature. Following the discussion of ALD, CVD and its growth kinetics are also discussed. Chapter 1 then outlines a holistic understanding of precursors, followed the differences in requirement for using them in ALD and MOCVD. Further, an introduction to the titanium oxide (Stoichiometric titanium dioxide and various Magneli phases) system, its phase diagram, oxide properties and their applications is given. Chapter 1 concludes by delineating the scope of the work carried out which is presented in the thesis. The second chapter deals with the synthesis of a series of substituted metal “single source” precursors to be used for MOCVD of substituted metal oxides thin films. The precursor complexes were of the type AlxCr1-x (acac)3 where 0<x<1. The complexes were synthesized using the novel approach of co-synthesis and were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. Single crystal X-ray diffraction at low temperature was carried out to understand the substitution of metal in the complex crystallographically. The substituted metal complexes synthesized and characterized in chapter 2 were further evaluated for their viability as single source precursors for MOCVD application, using thermo-gravimetry as discussed in chapter 3. Vapor pressure of these complexes was determined by using the Langmuir equation, while the enthalpies of submission and evaporation were calculated using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. One of the composition of the series of substituted metal complexes, viz., Al0.9Cr0.1(acac)3, was employed on MOCVD reactor as precursor to obtain thin films on three substrates, Si(100), fused silica, and polycrystalline x- alumina, simultaneously. The resultant thin films were characterized using XRD, electron microscopy, FTIR, EDS, X-ray mapping, and UV-vis spectroscopy. Chapter 4 deals with the growth of titanium oxide thin films using ALD. The metal precursor used was Ti(OiPr)2(tbob)2 and the reactant gas was hydrogen. Hydrogen, a reducing gas, was deliberately used to obtain the reduced defect oxide phases of titanium, commonly called Magneli phases. The growth rate of films grown on p-Si(100) was studied with respect to the substrate temperature, vaporizer temperature, pulse duration of metal precursor and pulse duration of the reactive gas. Also, the concept of complementarity of a reaction and self-limiting behavior in a true ALD process was illustrated. The deposition conditions such as substrate temperature and reactive gas flows have been varied to optimize the phase content and the morphology of the films. The films grown were characterized to determine the various phases of titanium oxide present using XRD, TEM, FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The presence of carbon was revealed by Raman spectroscopy. By using these characterization techniques, it was concluded that the film grown is a composite made of stiochiometric TiOx matrix embedded with crystallites of (reduced) Magneli phases. Chapter 5 deals with the electrical properties of the composite thin films grown in chapter 4. the films behave as percolative capacitor which could be used for application as novel high-k dielectric material for DRAM. The effect of change in flow rates of reactive gas (H2) on the dielectric constant (k) and leakage current of the film were studied. It was found that phase composition of the film plays an important role in tuning the dielectric properties of the film was also studied. The effect of thickness of the film also studied on the dielectric properties of the film. The trend observed was correlated to the morphology of the film as a function of its thickness and the grain growth mechanism as observed from high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Further, the effect of change in substrate temperature, metal precursor pulse length, and of the metal used as top electrode, on C-V and I-V characteristics were studied. It was interesting to see that the presence of the more conductingTi5O9 (than Ti3O5) enhances the dielectric constant, which is a requisite for a high-k material for DRAM application. On the other hand, the presence of Ti5O9 also increased the leakage current in the film, which was not desirable. It therefore suggested itself that an optimum embedment of Ti5O9 in the composite helps in enhancing the dielectric constant, while maintaining a low leakage current. Under optimum conditions, a dielectric constant of 210 at 1MHz was measured with a leakage current of 17 nA. The effect of the presence of carbon in the film was studied using Raman Spectroscopy, and it was found that a high leakage was associated with films having greater carbon content. In this chapter, electrical properties of composite thin films were also compared with those of stoichiometric titanium dioxide (a known dielectric). Further, a multilayer sandwich structure was proposed, such that it had a 53 mm thick stoichiometric TiO2 layer followed by 336nm thick composite film and again a 53nm thick stoichiometric titanium dioxide layer. The dielectric characteristics of this structure were found to be better than those of either of the other two.viz., stoichiometric titanium dioxide film or the composite thin film of titanium oxide.

O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo do tratamento duplex para o biomaterial Nitinol (NiTi). Este tratamento consiste em nitretação a plasma para a formação do nitreto de titânio (TiN), seguido de deposição de um filme fino de nitreto de zircônio (ZrN) sobre a superfície nitretada. O estudo das fases cristalinas presentes no sistema foi realizado pela técnica de difração de raios X (DRX). A morfologia e espessura da camada nitretada e do filme fino depositado foram avaliadas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). As propriedades mecânicas foram estudadas mediante ensaios de nanoindentação. Para avaliar a resistência à corrosão foram realizados testes de polarização potenciodinâmica em solução de saliva artificial. Os resultados mostram que a temperatura de nitretação tem forte influência na formação do TiN na superfície do substrato. O filme de ZrN depositado sobre as amostras nitretadas apresenta propriedades de dureza e resistência à corrosão que dependem da temperatura de nitretação, mesmo tendo sido depositados sem variação de temperatura. Esse comportamento sugere que os filmes são influenciados pela condição inicial da superfície antes da deposição. Os melhores resultados em termos de dureza e resistência à corrosão foram obtidos nas amostras tratadas em temperaturas mais elevadas. / The present work aims to study about duplex treatment on the biomaterial Nitinol (NiTi). This treatment consists in titanium nitride (TiN) formed by plasma nitration, followed by zirconium nitride (ZrN) thin film deposition upon the nitrated surface. The study of crystalline phases present in the system was performed by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The morphology and thickness of the nitrated layer and thin film were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties were studied by nanoindentation analysis. In order to evaluate corrosive resistance tests of potenciodynamic polarization were performed in solution of saliva artificial. Results demonstrate that nitration temperature has a strong influence in the formation TiN on the substrate surface. The ZrN film depositated upon nitrated samples present hardness and corrosive resistance properties that depend on nitration temperature, even though ZrN films were depositated without temperature variation. This behaviour suggests that films are influenced by the initial surface condition before depositon. The best results in terms of hardness and corrosive resistance were obtained in samples treated at higher temperatures.

Surface chemistry plays a key role in science and technology because materials interact with their environments through their surfaces. Understanding surface chemistry can help alter/improve the properties of materials. However, surface characterization and modification often require multiple characterization and synthesis techniques. Silicon/silica-based materials are technologically important, so studying their surface properties can enable future advancements. In this dissertation, I explore surface modification and characterization of different types of Si/SiO2 thin films, including silicon wafers, fused silica capillary columns, and oblique angle sputtered Si/SiO2 thin films. In Chapters 2-5, I first present a method to rapidly silanize silica surfaces using a gas-phase synthesis that employs a small aminosilane that passivates/deactivates silicon wafers and the inner surfaces of capillary columns. This deposition takes place in a flow-through, atmospheric pressure, gas-phase reactor. This surface modification results in a significant decrease in the number of free surface silanols, which was confirmed by high-sensitivity low energy ion scattering (HS-LEIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). I then show that this silanization inhibits atomic layer deposition (ALD) of zinc oxide (ZnO), which is an important optical thin film material. Finally, I performed in-depth characterization of thin films of oblique angle deposited porous Si/SiO2. These films have been used as the active coatings in solid phase microextraction (SPME) devices. The characterization and analysis in this study were mainly by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and various computational microstructural characterization techniques, e.g., two-point statistics. The rest of my dissertation focuses on XPS data analysis and interpretation. I first show box plots as a simple graphical tool for determining overfitting in XPS peak fitting. I next present a series of chemometrics/informatics analyses of an XPS image dataset from a patterned silicon surface with different oxide thicknesses. This dataset was probed via an initial, graphical analysis of the data, summary statistics with a focus on pattern recognition entropy (PRE), principal component analysis (PCA), multivariate curve resolution (MCR), and cluster analysis (CA).

Nickel und Nickel (II) -oxid werden in großem Umfang in fortgeschrittenen elektronischen Geräten verwendet. In der Mikroelektronik-Industrie wird Nickel verwendet werden, um Nickelsilizid bilden. Die Nickelmono Silizid (NiSi) wurde als ausgezeichnetes Material für Source-Drain-Kontaktanwendungen unter 45 nm-CMOS-Technologie entwickelt. Im Vergleich zu anderen Siliziden für die Kontaktanwendungen verwendet wird NiSi wegen seines niedrigen spezifischen Widerstand, niedrigen Kontaktwiderstand, relativ niedrigen Bildungstemperatur und niedrigem Siliziumverbrauchs bevorzugt. Nickel in Nickelbasis-Akkus und ferromagnetischen Direktzugriffsspeicher (RAMs) verwendet. Nickel (II) oxid wird als Transistor-Gate-Oxid und Oxid in resistive RAM genutzt wird. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) ist eine spezielle Art der Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), das verwendet wird, um sehr glatte sowie homogene Dünnfilme mit hervorragenden Treue auch bei hohen Seitenverhältnissen abzuscheiden. Es basiert auf selbstabschließenden sequentielle Gas-Feststoff-Reaktionen, die eine präzise Steuerung der Filmdicke auf wenige Angström lassen sich auf der Basis. Zur Herstellung der heutigen 3D-elektronische Geräte, sind Technologien wie ALD erforderlich. Trotz der Vielzahl von praktischen Anwendungen von Nickel und Nickel (II) -oxid, sind einige Nickelvorstufen zur thermischen basierend ALD erhältlich. Darüber hinaus haben diese Vorstufen bei schlechten Filmeigenschaften führte und die Prozesseigenschaften wurden ebenfalls begrenzt. Daher in dieser Masterarbeit mussten die Eigenschaften verschiedener neuartiger Nickelvorstufen zu bewerten. Alle neuen Vorstufen heteroleptische (verschiedene Arten von Liganden) und Komplexe wurden vom Hersteller speziell zur thermischen basierend ALD aus reinem Nickel mit H 2 als ein Co-Reaktionsmittel gestaltet. Um die neuartige Vorläufer zu untersuchen, wurde eine neue Methode entwickelt, um kleine Mengen in einer sehr zeitsparend (bis zu 2 g) von Ausgangsstoffen zu testen. Diese Methodologie beinhaltet: TGA / DTA-Kurve analysiert der Vorstufen, thermische Stabilitätstests in dem die Vorläufer (<0,1 g) wurden bei erhöhter Temperatur in einer abgedichteten Umgebung für mehrere Stunden wurde die Abscheidung Experimenten und Film Charakterisierungen erhitzt. Die Abscheidungen wurden mit Hilfe der in situ Quarzmikrowaage überwacht, während die anwendungsbezogenen Filmeigenschaften, wie chemische Zusammensetzung, physikalische Phase, Dicke, Dichte, Härte und Schichtwiderstand wurden mit Hilfe von ex situ Messverfahren untersucht. Vor der Evaluierung neuartiger Nickelvorstufen ein Benchmark ALD-Prozess war vom Referenznickelvorläufer (Ni (AMD)) und Luft als Reaktionspartner entwickelt. Das Hauptziel der Entwicklung und Optimierung von solchen Benchmark-ALD-Prozess war es, Standard-Prozessparameter wie zweite Reaktionspartner Belichtungszeiten, Argonspülung Zeiten, gesamtprozessdruck, beginnend Abscheidungstemperatur und Gasströme zu extrahieren. Diese Standard-Prozessparameter mussten verwendet, um die Prozessentwicklung Aufgabe (das spart Vorläufer Verbrauch) zu verkürzen und die Sublimationstemperatur Optimierung für jede neuartige Vorstufe werden. Die ALD Verhalten wurde in Bezug auf die Wachstumsrate durch Variation des Nickelvorläuferbelichtungszeit, Vorläufer Temperatur und Niederschlagstemperatur überprüft. / Nickel and nickel(II) oxide are widely used in advanced electronic devices . In microelectronic industry, nickel is used to form nickel silicide. The nickel mono-silicide (NiSi) has emerged as an excellent material of choice for source-drain contact applications below 45 nm node CMOS technology. As compared to other silicides used for the contact applications, NiSi is preferred because of its low resistivity, low contact resistance, relatively low formation temperature and low silicon consumption. Nickel is used in nickel-based rechargeable batteries and ferromagnetic random access memories (RAMs). Nickel(II) oxide is utilized as transistor gate-oxide and oxide in resistive RAMs. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a special type of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technique, that is used to deposit very smooth as well as homogeneous thin films with excellent conformality even at high aspect ratios. It is based on self-terminating sequential gas-solid reactions that allow a precise control of film thickness down to few Angstroms. In order to fabricate todays 3D electronic devices, technologies like ALD are required. In spite of huge number of practical applications of nickel and nickel(II) oxide, a few nickel precursors are available for thermal based ALD. Moreover, these precursors have resulted in poor film qualities and the process properties were also limited. Therefore in this master thesis, the properties of various novel nickel precursors had to be evaluated. All novel precursors are heteroleptic (different types of ligands) complexes and were specially designed by the manufacturer for thermal based ALD of pure nickel with H 2 as a co-reactant. In order to evaluate the novel precursors, a new methodology was designed to test small amounts (down to 2 g) of precursors in a very time efficient way. This methodology includes: TGA/DTA curve analyses of the precursors, thermal stability tests in which the precursors (< 0.1 g) were heated at elevated temperatures in a sealed environment for several hours, deposition experiments, and film characterizations. The depositions were monitored with the help of in situ quartz crystal microbalance, while application related film properties like chemical composition, physical phase, thickness, density, roughness and sheet resistance were investigated with the help of ex situ measurement techniques. Prior to the evaluation of novel nickel precursors, a benchmark ALD process was developed from the reference nickel precursor (Ni(amd)) and air as a co-reactant. The main goal of developing and optimizing such benchmark ALD process was to extract standard process parameters like second-reactant exposure times, Argon purge times, total process pressure, starting deposition temperature and gas flows. These standard process parameters had to be utilized to shorten the process development task (thus saving precursor consumption) and optimize the sublimation temperature for each novel precursor. The ALD behaviour was checked in terms of growth rate by varying the nickel precursor exposure time, precursor temperature and deposition temperature.