Effect of ionic substitutions on the structure and dielectric properties of hafnia: A first principles study

First principles calculations were used to study the effects of Si, Ti, Zr, and Ta (+N) substitutional impurities on the structure and dielectric properties of crystalline HfO2. The dielectric constant of monoclinic HfO2 can be enhanced by substituting more polarizable ions for Hf, but the band gap is decreased. Enhancing the permittivity without decreasing the band gap requires forming the tetragonal or cubic phase of HfO2. Among the ions studied, Si alone is found to stabilize a nonmonoclinic phase of HfO2 relative to the monoclinic phase, but only at an atomic concentration above about 20%. Various experiments have reported the formation of nonmonoclinic phases of HfO2 with increased permittivity when other ions are substituted for Hf. It is concluded that these structures are, in general, either metastable or are stabilized by extrinsic factors or by a layered arrangement of the substitutional cations. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.