Fabrication and characterization of iron and iron carbide thin films by plasma enhanced pulsed chemical vapor deposition

A new pulsed chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) process has been developed to fabricate iron (Fe) and iron carbide (Fe₁−_xC_x) thin films at low temperature range from 150 °C to 230 °C. The process employs bis(1,4-di-tert-butyl-1,3-diazabutadienyl)iron(II) as iron source and hydrogen gas or hydrogen plasma as the coreactant. The films deposited with hydrogen gas are demonstrated polycrystalline with body-centered cubic Fe. However, for the films deposited with hydrogen plasma, the amorphous phase of iron carbide is obtained. The influence of the deposition temperature on iron and iron carbide characteristics have been investigated.