Process for the pyrolytic deposition of aluminum from TIBA

Claim 1

A process for the pyrolytic deposition of aluminum from tri-isobutyl aluminum (TIBA) to form an aluminum film on a work piece, comprising the steps of: a. purging a reaction chamber with nitrogen prior to initiation of said deposition; and b. terminating the nitrogen purge and pyrolytically depositing aluminum on said workpiece, said depositing step comprising: (i) passing a stream of dry, oxygen-free inert gas through a quantity of liquid TIBA so as to entrain a portion of TIBA vapor; (ii) maintaining the liquid TIBA at a temperature between 80° and 90° C.; (iii) directing the inert gas and entrained TIBA to said reaction chamber in which said workpiece is disposed; (iv) maintaining a temperature in said reaction chamber within the range between 250° to 270° C. to cause the pyrolytic deposition of aluminum onto a surface of the workpiece; and (v) supplying periodic pulses of dry, oxygen free inert gas without entrained TIBA to the reaction chamber during deposition whereby a substantially uniform TIBA concentration is maintained within the chamber and spent reactive gases resulting from the decomposition of TIBA are purged from the chamber.