High-κ Al2O3−HfTiO Nanolaminates With Less Than 0.8-nm Equivalent Oxide Thickness

High quality nanolaminate stacks consisting of five Al₂O₃-HfTiO layers with an effective dielectric constant of about 22.5 are reported. A dielectric constant for binary HfTiO thick films of about 83 was also demonstrated. The electrical characteristics of as-deposited structures and ones which were annealed in an O₂ atmosphere at up to 950 degC for 5-10 min were investigated. Two types of gate electrodes: Pt and Ti were compared. The dielectric stack which was annealed up to 500 degC exhibits a leakage current density as small as ~1times10^-4 A/cm² at an electric of field 1.5 MV/cm for a quantum-mechanical corrected equivalent oxide thickness of ~0.76 nm. These values change to ~1times10^-8 A/cm² and 1.82 nm, respectively, after annealing at 950 degC