(634c) Polymer-Assisted Deposition: A Versatile Solution Route to Epitaxial Metal Oxide and Metal Nitride Thin Films

Metal oxide and nitride thin films have a variety of properties and many potential applications. Thin films can be deposited by physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and chemical solution deposition techniques. One of the challenges in solution-based process is to produce high quality films and at the same time to control the stoichiometry. In this talk, I will present a novel chemical solution method, a polymer-assisted deposition (PAD) to grow both simple and complex oxide and nitride thin films and nanocomposite materials. We use a new strategy to control the distribution of metals in solution at a molecular level and a mixture of metal precursor and soluble polymer to form a solution with desired viscosity. By actively binding the metal ions, the polymer encapsulates the metals to prevent chemical reaction while maintaining an even distribution of the metals in solution. This ensures a homogeneous metal distribution and avoids unwanted reactivity that can lead to the formation of undesired phases. The successful growth of a wide range of materials with desirable physical properties by PAD illustrates that PAD is an alternative approach for synthesis of high quality thin films.