Chemical synthesis,structural characterization and electrical studies of nanoceria for CMOS applications

Cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using cerium nitrate hexa hydrate and ammonium carbonate as precursors. Structural characterizations were done using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystallite size and lattice strain on the peak broadening of CeO₂ nanoparticles were studied using Williamson-Hall (W-H) analysis. The dielectric properties of nanocrystalline CeO₂ samples with different calcination temperatures, and frequencies have been studied over a temperature range from 303 to 423 K. It is found that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss for all temperatures have high values at low frequencies, which decreases rapidly as frequency is increased and attains a constant value at higher frequencies. The room temperature dielectric constant ε′ obtained for the as prepared CeO₂ nanoparticle sample is 61, which constitutes the highest value ever reported at low frequency. A.C. conductivity, which was derived from dielectric constant and loss tangent data, has a low value at smaller frequencies that increases as the frequency is increased. The dielectric constant and a.c. conductivity values are shifted upwards as the temperature is raised. However, these values are decreased as the annealing temperature is increased. The desired structural properties and high dielectric constant of nanophase CeO₂ make it as a promising material for the high dielectric constant dielectric gate in complementary metal oxide semiconducting (CMOS) devices.