Band alignment and enhanced breakdown field of simultaneously oxidized and nitrided Zr film on Si

Yew Hoong Wong; Kuan Yew Cheong

doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-489

Band alignment and enhanced breakdown field of simultaneously oxidized and nitrided Zr film on Si

Nanoscale Res Lett. 2011 Aug 10;6(1):489. doi: 10.1186/1556-276X-6-489.

Authors

Yew Hoong Wong¹, Kuan Yew Cheong

Affiliation

¹ Energy Efficient and Sustainable Semiconductor Research Group, School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Seberang Perai Selatan, Penang, Malaysia. cheong@eng.usm.my.

Abstract

The band alignment of ZrO2/interfacial layer/Si structure fabricated by simultaneous oxidation and nitridation of sputtered Zr on Si in N2O at 700°C for different durations has been established by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Valence band offset of ZrO2/Si was found to be 4.75 eV, while the highest corresponding conduction offset of ZrO2/interfacial layer was found to be 3.40 eV; owing to the combination of relatively larger bandgaps, it enhanced electrical breakdown field to 13.6 MV/cm at 10-6 A/cm2.