Patent ID: 6984584

Claim:
A method for reducing contamination of a layer of a first material deposited onto a surface of a substrate, the method comprising: i) selecting a precursor of the deposit material and a solvent, wherein the precursor thermally dissociates under conditions at which the solvent is a supercritical or near-supercritical fluid; ii) dissolving the precursor into the solvent to form a supercritical or near-supercritical solution; and iii) exposing the substrate to the solution under conditions at which the precursor thermally dissociates while maintaining supercritical or near-supercritical conditions, thereby forming the layer of the first material on the surface of the substrate, wherein the layer comprises at least 95 weight percent of the first material and a substantial portion of the first material in the layer is provided by the thermal dissociation of the precursor.