Electron beam-induced deposition of platinum from Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ and Pt(CO)₂Br₂

Two platinum precursors, Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ and Pt(CO)₂Br₂, were designed for focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID) with the aim of producing platinum deposits of higher purity than those deposited from commercially available precursors. In this work, we present the first deposition experiments in a scanning electron microscope (SEM), wherein series of pillars were successfully grown from both precursors. The growth of the pillars was studied as a function of the electron dose and compared to deposits grown from the commercially available precursor MeCpPtMe₃. The composition of the deposits was determined using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and compared to the composition of deposits from MeCpPtMe₃, as well as deposits made in an ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) environment. A slight increase in metal content and a higher growth rate are achieved in the SEM for deposits from Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ compared to MeCpPtMe₃. However, deposits made from Pt(CO)₂Br₂ show slightly less metal content and a lower growth rate compared to MeCpPtMe₃. With both Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ and Pt(CO)₂Br₂, a marked difference in composition was found between deposits made in the SEM and deposits made in UHV. In addition to Pt, the UHV deposits contained halogen species and little or no carbon, while the SEM deposits contained only small amounts of halogen species but high carbon content. Results from this study highlight the effect that deposition conditions can have on the composition of deposits created by FEBID.