Using Phthalocyanine Precursors to Prepare Oxide Thin Films: Decoupling the Growth Rate From the Evaporation Rate

Major challenges concerning the use of chemical beam epitaxy deposition techniques are posed by the lack of reliable in-situ composition control and well-behaved metal-organic precursors. To circumvent these shortcomings we propose the use of a different type of metal-organic precursors, namely molecules resistant to high temperatures, for the growth of thin films. As these molecules cannot be decomposed by the substrate temperature, they are subjected to a chemical reaction with a beam of activated species. The major advantages of this novel deposition process are listed and illustrated by the growth of CuO and YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) thin films.