Luminescence of RE-ions in HfO2 thin films and some possible applications

Optical characterization of hafnium oxide thin films for heat mirrors

“…Because of its outstanding chemical stability, electrical and mechanical properties, high-dielectric constant and wide band gap, hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ) has been considered as one of the most important materials with a wide range of potential scientific and technological applications in electronics [6,7], magneto-electronics [8,9], optoelectronics [10] and metal oxide semiconductor devices [11]. Being a shiny, silvery, ductile and corrosion-resistant metal, oxides and other compounds of hafnium can be utilized in gate insulators in the 45 nm generation of integrated circuits as recommended by Intel, IBM and others [12].…”

“…In general, such physical, optical and electric properties of HfO 2 films are highly dependent on film surfaces, interface structures, morphologies and chemical stoichiometry. These aspects can usually be controlled by the preparation techniques, growth conditions and post treatments [3,[6][7][8][9][10]. So that with suitable coating materials, dielectric films having properties such as: high transparency, suitable refractive index, good adhesion, low stress, reasonable hardness, good chemical stability and environmental behavior, can be produced.…”

A “green methodology” approach to the synthesis of HfO2 nanoparticles

“…These properties are suitable for several applications, for example; new generation high-k gate dielectric in microelectronics [1,2], high temperature refractory materials and thermal barrier coatings [3]. Recently, HfO 2 has been considered as interesting material for optical devices due to its transparency in the visible range (band gap¼ 5.3-5.9 eV) and chemical inertness [4,5]. Furthermore, HfO 2 has shown biological effects in medical areas [6].…”

Photoluminescence of sol–gel-prepared hafnia

“…In addition, wide-gap materials like HfO 2 and ZrO 2 could be attractive for luminescence applications in visible and UV spectral ranges where the emission of impurities or intrinsic defects can take place within the optical transparency window of the host and where the mechanisms of thermal quenching of emission inherent to semiconductors are not expected. For example, the matrices have been considered as potential scintillators [6] as well as hosts for rare earth activation in photonics applications [10,11].…”