Hafnium oxide thin film grown by ALD: An XPS study

Hafnium (IV) oxide thin films were synthesized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si (100) substrates, using an innovative guanidinate-stabilized hafnium amide precursor, [Hf (NEtMe)(2)(EtMeNC)(NPr)-Pr-i)(2))(2)]. In the present work, our attention is focused on a detailed XPS characterization of a representative HfO2 coating grown at 350 degrees C. Beside the wide scan spectrum, detailed spectra for the O 1s, Hf 4f, Hf 4d and C 1s regions and related data are presented and discussed. The obtained results point out to the formation of HfO2 coatings characterized by the presence of -OH groups, whose main origin is attributed to the use of water as oxidizing agent during the preparation process. (C) 2006 American Vacuum Society.