Chemical fluid deposition: A hybrid technique for low-temperature metallization

Chemical fluid deposition (CFD) is a novel approach to metal deposition tha t involves the chemical reduction of organome- tallic compounds in supercri tical carbon dioxide to yield high purity films at low temperature. Since s upercritical CO2 can exhibit densities that approach those of a liquid solv ent while retaining the transport properties of a gas, CFD is essentially a hybrid technique that uniquely blends the advantages of chemical vapor dep osition (CVD) and electroless plating. Here, we describe the deposition of high-purity films of Pt, Pd, Au, and Rh onto inorganic and polymer substrat es by the reduction of appropriate precursors in CO2 at 60 degrees C.