Atomic Layer Deposition of Gd-Doped HfO[sub 2] Thin Films

thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tris(isopropyl-cyclopentadienyl) gadolinium and in combination with as an oxidizer. Growth curves showed a nearly ideal ALD behavior. The growth per individual or cycle was 0.55 Å, independent of the composition in the studied range. This indicates that the amount of deposited during a cycle was essentially identical to the amount of deposited during a cycle, assuming identical atomic densities of the films independent of composition. The crystallization of with contents between 7 and 30% was studied. Films with crystallized into a cubic/tetragonal -like phase during spike or laser annealing up to , demonstrating that the cubic/tetragonal phase is thermally stable in this temperature range. A maximum dielectric constant of was found for a concentration of .