Structural and electrical characterization of erbium oxide films grown on Si(100) by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We report the structural and electrical properties of Er2O3 films grown on Si(100) in the temperature range 450–600 °C by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using Er(acac)3⋅phen, the phenanthroline adduct of erbium acetylacetonate, as the precursor. The film properties are correlated with the growth and processing conditions. The structural characterization reveals that films grown at lower temperatures are smooth, but poorly crystalline, whereas films grown at higher temperatures are polycrystalline. A dielectric constant in the range 8–20, a minimum total fixed oxide charge density (Nf) of −1×1010 cm−2, and a minimum hysteresis of 10 mV in the bidirectional capacitance–voltage characteristics are demonstrated.