Microstructure and interfacial properties of HfO2-Al2O3 nanolaminate films

High-k HfO2-Al2O3 composite gate dielectric thin films on Si(1 0 0) have been deposited by means of magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and interfacial characteristics of the HfO2-Al2O3 films have been investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Analysis by XRD has confirmed that an amorphous structure of the HfO2-Al2O3 composite films is maintained up to an annealing temperature of 800 °C, which is much higher than that of pure HfO2 thin films. FTIR characterization indicates that the growth of the interfacial SiO2 layer is effectively suppressed when the annealing temperature is as low as 800 °C, which is also confirmed by spectroscopy ellipsometry measurement. These results clearly show that the crystallization temperature of the nanolaminate HfO2-Al2O3 composite films has been increased compared to pure HfO2 films. Al2O3 as a passivation barrier for HfO2 high-k dielectrics prevents oxygen diffusion and the interfacial layer growth effectively.