Effects of nitrogen incorporation into lanthana film by plasma immersion ion implantation

In this work, the effect of nitrogen implantation on thin La2O3 films grown by e-beam evaporation are investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. The amount of nitrogen incorporation in the oxide film by plasma immersion ion-implantation (PIII) is found to be quite low (about 3% near the surface). However, introduction of nitrogen atoms into La2O3 network results in a significant reduction in the oxide traps and leads to a notable improvement in both material and electrical properties of the dielectric.