| abstract |
Methods of forming metal carbide thin films are provided. According to preferred embodiments, metal carbide thin films are formed in an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process by alternately and sequentially contacting a substrate in a reaction space with spatially and temporally separated vapor phase pulses of a metal source chemical, a reducing agent and a carbon source chemical. The reducing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of excited species of hydrogen and silicon-containing compounds. |