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

• Main Authors: Wong, Y.H., Cheong, K.Y.
• Format: Article
• Published: SpringerOpen 2011
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/12996/; http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/content/6/1/489; http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1556-276X-6-489
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

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.