Electron paramagnetic resonance characterisation of defects in HfO2 and ZrO2 powders and films

Abstract

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EFR) measurements have been made on a variety of commercially available samples of monoclinic HfO2 and ZrO2 powders and also on HfO2 and ZrO2 films deposited on silicon by electron beam evaporation. The high dielectric constant of HfO2 and ZrO2 is one of the reasons that they are being considered as a replacement for SiO2 as a gate dielectric in Si CMOS devices. The aim of this study is to characterise the defects in HfO2 and ZrO2 , to determine if the defects trap charge and to determine if the defects will affect device performance. All EPR spectra were taken at a microwave frequency of about 9.5GHz and at room temperature.