Citation:Monaghan, S., Greer, J. C. and Elliott, S. D. (2005) 'Thermal decomposition mechanisms of hafnium and zirconium silicates at the atomic scale', Journal of Applied Physics, 97(11), pp. 114911. doi: 10.1063/1.1926399
The hafnium and zirconium silicates, (MO2)(x)(SiO2)(1-x), with M=Hf/Zr, are being considered as high-k gate dielectrics for field-effect transistors as a compromise between high permittivity and thermal stability during processing. Using atomic-scale models of silicates derived from hafnon/zircon, stability before and after simulated thermal annealing is calculated within a density-functional approach. These silicates are found to be thermodynamically unstable with respect to decomposition into SiO2 and MO2 (M=Hf/Zr). Segregation mechanisms on the atomic scale are studied leading to an insight as to an why SiO2-rich mixtures undergo spinodal decomposition and why, by contrast, MO2-rich phases are metastable, decomposing below typical process temperatures.
This website uses cookies. By using this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the UCC Privacy and Cookies Statement. For more information about cookies and how you can disable them, visit our Privacy and Cookies statement