Tyndall propose an new metallocene reducing agent pathway for ALD of copper

The Materials Modelling For Devices group headed by Simon Elliott at Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork propose using metallocene compounds as reducing agents for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of the transition metal Cu from metalorganic precursors resulting in a new pathway for ALD of copper. The screening results of 10 different compunds has been published in Dalton Transactions recently and generated the status - Hot Article!

Quantum chemical and solution phase evaluation of metallocenes as reducing agents for the prospective atomic layer deposition of copper 

Gangotri Dey, Jacqueline S. Wrench, Dirk J. Hagen, Lynette Keeney and Simon D. Elliott
Dalton Trans., 2015,44, 10188-10199
DOI: 10.1039/C5DT00922G 

We propose and evaluate the use of metallocene compounds as reducing agents for the chemical vapour deposition (and specifically atomic layer deposition, ALD) of the transition metal Cu from metalorganic precursors. Ten different transition metal cyclopentadienyl compounds are screened for their utility in the reduction of Cu from five different Cu precursors by evaluating model reaction energies with density functional theory (DFT) and solution phase chemistry.