Photo-formation of interfacial layers during pulsed laser deposition of high-k dielectrics on silicon

ZrO2 and Y2O3 thin films were deposited on Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition in vacuum or oxygen ambient. Angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations showed that there was always some oxidation of the Si substrate resulting in the formation of an interfacial layer that could have a deleterious effect on the overall capacitance of the resulting MOS devices. The positions and shape of the metal, the oxygen and the Si …