Sc2O3, Er2O3, and Y2O3 thin films by MOCVD from volatile guanidinate class of rare-earth precursors

Abstract

Alternative novel precursor chemistries for the vapor phase deposition of rare-earth (RE) oxide thin films were developed by synthesising the homoleptic guanidinate compounds tris(N,N'-diisopropyl-2-dimethylamidoguanidinato)-scandium(III) [Sc(DPDMG)(3)] (1), tris(N,N'-diisopropyl-2-dimethylamidoguanidinato)-erbium(III), [Er(DPDMG)(3)] (2) and tris(N,N'-diisopropyl-2-dimethylamidoguanidinato)-yttrium(III), [Y(DPDMG)(3)] (3). All three compounds are monomeric as revealed by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron impact mass spectrometry (EI-MS). The thermal analysis revealed that the compounds are volatile and very stable under evaporation conditions. Therefore the complexes were evaluated as precursors for the growth of Sc(2)O(3), Er(2)O(3) and Y(2)O(3) thin films, respectively, by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Uniform Sc(2)O(3), Er(2)O(3) and Y(2)O(3) films on Si(100) substrates with reproducible quality were grown by MOCVD by the combination of the respective guanidinate precursors and oxygen in the temperature range 350-700 °C. The structural, morphological, compositional and electrical properties of the films were investigated in detail. The most relevant film properties are highlighted in relation to the distinct advantages of the novel precursor chemistries in comparison to the commonly used literature known RE precursors. This study shows that compounds 1-3 are very good precursors for MOCVD yielding Sc(2)O(3), Er(2)O(3) and Y(2)O(3) thin films which are stoichiometric and display suitable electrical properties for their potential use as high dielectric constant (high-k) materials.

Dielectric relaxation of high-k oxides

“…Among them are cerium oxide CeO 2 [16-23], cerium zirconate CeZrO 4 [24], gadolinium oxide Gd 2 O 3 [25-27], erbium oxide Er 2 O 3 [28,29], neodymium oxide Nd 2 O 3 [30,31], aluminum oxide Al 2 O 3 [32,33], lanthanum aluminum oxide LaAlO 3 [34,35], lanthanum oxide La 2 O 3 [36], yttrium oxide Y 2 O 3 [37], tantalum pentoxide Ta 2 O 5 [38], titanium dioxide TiO 2 [39], zirconium dioxide ZrO 2 [40,41], lanthanum-doped zirconium oxide La x Zr 1 −x O 2 −δ [42,43], hafnium oxide HfO 2 [44], HfO 2 -based oxides La 2 Hf 2 O 7 [45], Ce x Hf 1-x O 2 [46], hafnium silicate HfSi x O y [47], and rare-earth scandates LaScO 3 [48], GdScO 3 [49], DyScO 3 [50], and SmScO 3 [51]. Among them, HfO 2 , HfO 2 -based materials, ZrO 2 , and ZrO 2 -based materials are considered as the most promising candidates combining high dielectric permittivity and thermal stability with low leakage current due to a reasonably high barrier height that limits electron tunneling.…”

Water‐Induced Scandium Oxide Dielectric for Low‐Operating Voltage n‐ and p‐Type Metal‐Oxide Thin‐Film Transistors

“…To date, Sc 2 O 3 thin films have been prepared by using various costly vacuum‐based techniques, such as molecular‐beam epitaxy,[14b] chemical vapor deposition,[14a,19] electron‐beam evaporation, and high‐pressure sputtering. [14c] In contrast, solution processing usually exhibits benefits such as simplicity, atmospheric processing, high throughput, large‐area uniformity, roll‐to‐roll capability, and low fabrication cost .…”

Measurement of gamma-ray production cross sections for nuclear reactions 14N(d,pγ)15N and 28Si(d,pγ)29Si

“…in spintronics) [7]. Rare-earth oxides and rare-earth-scandates are interesting for metal-oxidesemiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) as well as Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors [8]. Zirconium-based thin films like zirconium oxide and zirconium nitride also have many applications (optical sensors, thermal coatings, reflectors, fuel cells as well as hard coatings, diffusion barriers, etc.)…”