Band offsets of epitaxial Tm2O3 high-k dielectric films on Si substrates by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Tm2O3 crystalline films have been deposited on Si (0 0 1) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Band alignments of Tm2O3/Si gate stacks were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). According to XPS measurements, it can be noted that a valence-band offset of −3.1 ± 0.1 eV and a conduction-band offset of 2.3 ± 0.3 eV for the Tm2O3/Si heterojunction have been obtained. Based on analysis from O 1s energy-loss spectrum, the energy gap of Tm2O3 is determined to be 6.5 ± 0.3 eV. A relatively thicker interfacial SiOx layer was observed for the as-annealed samples. However, no apparent change in band alignment has been observed for Tm2O3/Si heterojunction with the formation of interface layer, which has been discussed in detail.

► Single-crystalline Tm2O3 high k films have been deposited on Si (0 0 1) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). ► Band alignments of Tm2O3/Si gate stacks were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the first time. ► A valence-band offset of −3.1 ± 0.1 eV and a conduction-band offset of 2.3 ± 0.3 eV for the Tm2O3/Si heterojunction have been obtained. ► The energy gap of Tm2O3 is determined to be 6.5 ± 0.3 eV. A relatively thicker interfacial SiOx layer was observed for the as-annealed samples. ► However, no apparent change in band alignment has been observed for Tm2O3/Si heterojunction with the formation of interface layer.