Atomic Layer Deposition of the Conductive Delafossite PtCoO2

The first atomic layer deposition process for a ternary oxide is reported, which contains a metal of the platinum group, the delafossite PtCoO2. The deposition with the precursors trimethyl‐Pt‐methylcyclopentadienyl, Co‐bis(N‐t‐butyl‐N′‐ethylpropanimidamidate), and oxygen plasma results in a process with a nearly constant growth rate and stoichiometric composition over a wide temperature window from 100 to 320 °C. Annealing of the as‐deposited amorphous films in an oxygen atmosphere in a temperature window from 700 to 800 °C leads to the formation of the delafossite phase. Very thin films show a pronounced preferred orientation with the Pt sheets being almost parallel to the substrate surface while arbitrary orientation is observed for thicker films. The conformal coating of narrow trenches highlights the potential of this atomic‐layer‐deposition process. Moreover, heterostructures with magnetic films are fabricated to demonstrate the potential of PtCoO2 for spintronic applications. The first atomic layer deposition (ALD) process for a Pt‐containing ternary oxide, the delafossite PtCoO2, is reported. The ALD process yields amorphous films from which the crystalline delafossite phase can be obtained by annealing in oxygen. Metallic electrical transport behavior is demonstrated and its potential for spintronic applications is shown for heterostructures with magnetic materials.