Investigation of HfO2 thin films on Si by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, rutherford backscattering, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) thin films have been made by atomic vapor deposition (AVD) onto Si substrates under different growth temperature and oxygen flow. The effect of different growth conditions on the structure and optical characteristics of deposited HfO2 film has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE). The XPS measurements and analyses revealed the insufficient chemical reaction at the lower oxygen flow rate and the film quality improved at higher oxygen flow rate. Via GIXRD, it was found that the HfO2 films on Si were amorphous in nature, as deposited at lower deposition temperature, while being polycrystalline at higher deposition temperature. The structural phase changes from interface to surface were demonstrated. The values of optical constants and bandgaps and their variations with the growth conditions were determined accurately from VASE and XPS. All analyses indicate that appropriate substrate temperature and oxygen flow are essential to achieve high quality of the AVD-grown HfO2 films. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.