Low temperature chemical vapor deposition of tungsten, tungsten carbide and tantalum carbide films on SiO_2/Si(100) surfaces was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron microscopy. Tungsten carbide films were deposited using the W(CO)_6 precursor with and without ethylene over temperatures ranging from 250 to 500°C. The films grown without ethylene contained approximately 13 % carbon and 6 % oxygen. Cross section scanning electron microscopy imaging of the films grown at various temperatures without ethylene shows a polycrystalline microstructure, and the grain size increases dramatically as the growth temperature increases. Introducing ethylene increased carbon incorporation and changed the microstructure to amorphous-like. The tungsten to carbon ratio was approximately 2 at growth below 500°C, and reached ～1.2 above 500°C. The tantalum carbide films were deposited in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process using methane. The PECVD tantalum carbide films were conductive with a resistivity of～1000 μΩ cm, which is about one order of magnitude lower than thermally grown films from pentakisdimethylamino tantalum.
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