Nanoheterostructures of NiSi/Si/NiSi in which the length of the Si region can be controlled down to 2 nm have been produced using in situ point contact reaction between Si and Ni nanowires in an ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscope. The Si region was found to be highly strained (more than 12%). The strain increases with the decreasing Si layer thickness and can be controlled by varying the heating temperature. It was observed that the Si nanowire is transformed into a bamboo-type grain of single-crystal NiSi from both ends following the path with low-activation energy. We propose the reaction is assisted by interstitial diffusion of Ni atoms within the Si nanowire and is limited by the rate of dissolution of Ni into Si at the point contact interface. The rate of incorporation of Ni atoms to support the growth of NiSi has been measured to be 7 x 10(-4) s per Ni atom. The nanoscale epitaxial growth rate of single-crystal NiSi has been measured using high-resolution lattice-imaging videos. On the basis of the rate, we can control the consumption of Si and, in turn, the dimensions of the nanoheterostructure down to less than 2 nm, thereby far exceeding the limit of conventional patterning process. The controlled huge strain in the controlled atomic scale Si region, potential gate of Si nanowire-based transistors, is expected to significantly impact the performance of electronic devices.

Stoichiometric and pure Al2O3 gate dielectric films were grown on n-type 4H-SiC by a thermal atomic layer deposition process. The electrical properties of both amorphous and epitaxial Al2O3 films were studied by capacitance-voltage and current-voltage measurements of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. A dielectric constant of 9 and a flatband voltage shift of +1.3V were determined. A leakage current density of 10−3A∕cm2 at 8MV∕cm was obtained for the amorphous Al2O3 films, lower than that of any high-κ gate oxide on 4H-SiC reported to date. A Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism was used to determine an Al2O3∕4H-SiC barrier height of 1.58eV. Higher leakage current was obtained for the epitaxial γ-Al2O3 films, likely due to grain boundary conduction.

The formation of epitaxial γ-Al2O3 thin films on 4H-SiC was found to be strongly dependent on the film thickness. An abrupt interface was observed in films up to 200 Å thick with an epitaxial relationship of γ-Al2O3(111)‖4H-SiC(0001) and γ-Al2O3(44¯0)‖4H-SiC(112¯0). The in-plane alignment between the film and the substrate is nearly complete for γ-Al2O3 films up to 115 Å thick, but quickly diminishes in thicker films. The films are found to be slightly strained laterally in tension; the strain increases with thickness and then decreases in films thicker than 200 Å, indicating strain relaxation which is accompanied by increased misorientation. By controlling the structure of ultrathin Al2O3 films, metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors with Al2O3 gate dielectrics on 4H-SiC were found to have a very low leakage current density, suggesting suitability of Al2O3 for SiC device integration.

To evaluate the potential of HfO2 as a gate dielectric in SiC power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), the band alignment at the HfO2∕4H-SiC interface was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements and first-principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT). For XPS studies, HfO2 films were grown on 4H-SiC (0001) by a thermal atomic layer deposition process. A valence band offset of 1.74eV and a conduction band offset of 0.70eV were determined based on the valence band and core-level spectra. DFT simulations of the Si-terminated 4H-SiC (0001) surface found a 1×1 relaxed structure whereas simulations of the C-terminated surface observed a 2×1 reconstruction to form C–C dimers. We studied two m-HfO2∕4H-SiC (0001) supercells based on these surfaces and valence band offset values of 2.09 and 1.47eV, and conduction band offset values of 0.35 and 0.97eV, respectively, were predicted. The consistently low conduction band offset may not provide an adequate barrier height for electron injection from the substrate and further electrical studies are necessary to determine the viability of integrating HfO2 in SiC power MOSFETs.