Crystalline texture in hafnium diboride thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

The texture evolution of hafnium diboride (HfB2) thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition from the single source precursor Hf(BH4)4 was studied. Films grown on amorphous substrates show a (0 0 0 1) orientation at growth temperatures ⩽700 °C, but a (1 0 1̲ 0) orientation at 800 °C and above. Single-crystal substrates greatly influence the preferred orientation and in-plane texture of the films: (1 0 1̲ 0) orientation is favored on Si (0 0 1), whereas there is a strong tendency to grow in a (0 0 0 1) orientation on Si (1 1 1). At a growth temperature of 950 °C, HfB2 can be epitaxially grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates.