Conclusion

The role of gas-phase thermodynamics is essential in the development of a new ALD process: it enables the necessary parameters to be prioritized in order to minimize experimental costs. The challenge remains the construction of thermodynamic bases for organometallic precursors, and in particular data on the gas phase. Efforts are needed in scientific instrumentation to broaden the range of available measurements. As a result, a systematic inventory of reaction enthalpies remains by far more difficult to compile than a compilation based on formation enthalpies, a more commonly used method (formation enthalpies are often calculated from reaction enthalpy data and analogies with formation enthalpies of known compounds). The same applies to reaction entropies.