Boron-carbon (BxC) thin films enriched in 10B are potential neutron converting layers for 10Bbased solid-state neutron detectors given the good neutron absorption cross-section of 10B atoms in the thin film. Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) of such films faces the challenge that the maximum temperature tolerated by the aluminium substrate is 660 °C and low temperature CVD routes for BxC films are thus needed. This thesis presents the use of two different organoboron precursors, triethylboron –B(C2H5)3 (TEB) and trimethylboron – B(CH3)3 (TMB) as single-source precursors for CVD of BxC thin films. The CVD behaviour of TEB in thermal CVD has been studied by both BxC thin film deposition and quantum chemical calculations of the gas phase chemistry at the corresponding CVD conditions. The calculations predict that the gas phase reactions are dominated by ?-hydride eliminations of C2H4 to yield BH3. In addition, a complementary bimolecular reaction path based on H2-assisted C2H6 elimination to BH3 is also present at lower temperatures in the presence of hydrogen molecules. A temperature window of 600 – 1000 °C for deposition of X-ray amorphous BxC films with 2.5 ? x ? 4.5 is identified showing good film density (2.40 – 2.65 g/cm3) which is close to the bulk density of crystalline B4C, 2.52 g/cm3 and high hardness (29 – 39 GPa). The impurity level of H is lowered to < 1 at. % within the temperature window. Plasma chemical vapour deposition has been studied using TMB as single-source precursor in Ar plasma for investigating BxC thin film deposition at lower temperature than allowed by thermal CVD and further understanding of thin film deposition process. The effect of plasma power, total pressure, TMB and Ar gas flow on film composition and morphology are investigated. The highest B/C ratio of 1.9 is obtained at highest plasma power of 2400 W and TMB flow of 7 sccm. The H content in the films seems constant at 15±5 at. %. The B-C bond is dominant in the films with small amount of C-C and B-O bonds, which are likely due to the formation of amorphous carbon and surface oxidation, respectively. The film density is determined as 2.16±0.01 g/cm3 and the internal compressive stresses are measured to be <400 MPa.

As the semiconductor industry endeavors to scale integrated circuit dimensions-- decreasing layer thicknesses while increasing the aspect ratio of fillable features--the need for novel interconnect materials with highly specialized properties continues to rise. Meeting the requirements for the numerous types of materials needed, including low-k dielectrics, etch stops, metal diffusion barriers, hardmasks, spacer layers, and other pattern-assist layers, with traditional silicon-based materials is becoming increasingly challenging. As an alternative to silicon, amorphous hydrogenated boron carbide (a BC:H), grown through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), has been demonstrated to possess excellent dielectric properties, combined with very high Young's modulus, electrical properties rivaling those of SiOC:H variants, very good chemical stability, and unique and useful etch chemistry. However, a problem with PECVD growth that will limit its long-term utility is its inability to scale while maintaining uniform, conformal coatings for very thin films. To combat the issues arising from PECVD grown boron carbide, a plasma enhanced molecular-layer-deposition-based process for the growth of BC films on metal (copper) substrates using solid carborane precursors was proposed. This thesis describes the design and construction of a reactor chamber capable of this hypothesized film growth as well as the characterization of those preliminary depositions. Monolayer carborane growths on copper substrates were demonstrated with characterization including in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry, as well as ex situ contact angle analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface of the monolayer was then plasma treated and preliminary multi-layer growths were tested.