Physical and electrical characteristics of Ho2O3 thin film based on 4H-SiC wide bandgap semiconductor

The continuous down-sizing of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors have been confronted with various challenges in the last few decades, ranging from aggressive reduction of channel to miniaturization of dielectric gate thickness. In a bid to proffer solution to these challenges, a high-kappa dielectric and metal gate technology was proposed to substitute the conventional silicon dioxide gate layers. Therefore, this study focused on the formation of Ho2O3 thin film on a SiC substrate by sputtering and thermal oxidation. The effects of thermal oxidation on the structural, chemical, and electrical properties of the resulting Ho2O3 layers were evaluated experimentally at various temperatures from 800 - 1100 degrees C. The crystallinity of the Ho2O3 films were detected by x-ray diffraction, W-H plot, crystallites size, micro-strain, high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The result of electrical characterization shows that thermally oxidized samples at 900 degrees C have the optimum electrical properties, which could be attributed to the thinnest oxide and absence of interfacial layer that was recorded at that temperature.

Automated summary

The study focused on the formation of Ho2O3 thin film on a SiC substrate by sputtering and thermal oxidation, evaluating the effects of thermal oxidation on the structural and electrical properties of the resulting Ho2O3 layers. The results showed that samples thermally oxidized at 900 degrees Celsius exhibited optimum electrical properties.