Interfaces between γ-Al2O3 and silicon

As the epitaxy of crystalline LaAlO3 has not been realized yet, we investigated the use of a gamma-Al2O3 buffer layer between the high-kappa and the substrate. We firstly studied the structural matching of gamma-Al2O3(001) with a Si(001)-p(2 x 1) reconstructed surface. According to experimental data and computations in the density functional theory framework, we found stable interfaces between gamma-Al2O3 and Si which encounters surface reconstruction changes. These interfaces satisfy the criterion of an insulating buffer layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.