This article is cited in 14 papers

Surfaces, Electron and Ion Emission

X-ray spectroscopic examination of thin HfO$_2$ films ALD- and MOCVD-grown on the Si(100) surface

A. A. Sokolov^a, A. A. Ovchinnikov^a, K. M. Lysenkov^a, D. E. Marchenko^b, E. O. Filatova<sup>a

a</sup> Saint Petersburg State University
^b BESSY II, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, D-12489 Berlin, Germany

Abstract: HfO$_2$ films 5 nm thick grown on Si(100) substrates by the methods of MOCVD hydride epitaxy and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with Ar$^+$ ion etching and X-ray reflectometry. It is found that (i) the ALD-grown HfO$_2$ films are amorphous, while the MOCVD-grown films show signs of a crystal structure; (ii) the surface of the ALD-grown films is more prone to contamination and/or is more reactive; and (iii) the amount of interfacial silicon dioxide in the case of the MOCVD-grown film is greater than in the case of the films synthesized by ALD. It is also shown that the argon ion etching of the HfO$_2$ film results in the formation of a metallic hafnium layer at the interface. This indicates that HfO$_2$ can be used not only as a gate dielectric but also as a material suitable for fabricating nanodimensional conductors by direct decomposition.

Received: 21.09.2009

 English version: Technical Physics, 2010, 55:7, 1045–1050

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