Ultralow equivalent oxide thickness obtained for thin amorphous LaAlO3 layers grown on Si(001)

Electron beam evaporation in a molecular beam epitaxy reactor was used to deposit, at 400 degrees C, amorphous LaAlO3 high-kappa oxide films on p-type Si(001). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the interface with Si is free of SiO2 or silicates. Electrical measurements performed on as-deposited samples reveal an equivalent oxide thickness as low as 5 A for a film having a physical thickness of 41 A, a leakage current of 5.6x10(-2) A/cm(2) at parallel to V-g-V-FB parallel to=1 V, and no flatband voltage shift.