Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films: An alternative candidate for high-k dielectric applications

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4903072· OSTI ID:22402420

Gray, Nathan W.; Prestgard, Megan C.; Tiwari, Ashutosh ^[1]

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1. Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 (United States)

We are reporting the growth and structural, optical, and dielectric properties of Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3}, a relatively unexplored high-k dielectric material. A pulsed-laser deposition technique was used to grow Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin-films on four different substrates: Si(100), SrTiO{sub 3}(100), LaAlO{sub 3}(100), and MgO(100). High-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that film growth in an oxygen-rich (10{sup −1 }Torr) environment yields nearly single-crystal C-phase films, while a low-oxygen (10{sup −6 }Torr) environment growth results in the formation of monoclinic polycrystalline B-phase films. Optical transmission measurements showed that the bandgap of Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3} is direct in nature with a value of 2.8 eV and 3.4 eV for the cubic and monoclinic phases, respectively. By measuring the capacitance of test devices, quite high dielectric constants of 13.5 and 24.9 were obtained for the B- and C-phase Tb{sub 2}O{sub 3} films, respectively.

• OSTI ID: 22402420
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 22; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ALUMINATES
CAPACITANCE
CRYSTAL GROWTH
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ENERGY BEAM DEPOSITION
LANTHANUM COMPOUNDS
LASER RADIATION
MAGNESIUM OXIDES
MONOCRYSTALS
OXYGEN
PERMITTIVITY
SILICON
STRONTIUM TITANATES
TERBIUM OXIDES
THIN FILMS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION