Optimization of gadolinium oxide growth deposited on Si by high pressure sputtering

High k gadolinium oxide thin layers were deposited on silicon by high-pressure sputtering (HPS). In order to optimize the properties for microelectronic applications, different deposition conditions were used. Ti (scavenger) and Pt (nonreactive) were e-beam evaporated to fabricate metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices. According to x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, policrystaline stoichiometric Gd2O3 films were obtained by HPS. MIS with the dielctric deposited at higher pressures also present lower flatband voltage shifts in the C-V hysteris curves.