Yttrium oxide based metal-insulator-semiconductor structures on silicon

Yttrium oxide based metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures on silicon have been studied. Yttrium films of thickness of nearly 200 Å were deposited by electron beam evaporation on silicon substrates held at room temperature. The oxidation of yttrium was performed at 750 °C for 1 h in dry oxygen. Scanning electron microscopy showed a smooth surface morphology for oxidized films. X-ray diffraction analyses were also performed, but did not confirm the crystalline nature of the oxide. Capacitance-voltage and current-voltage measurements were conducted to characterize aluminum-yttrium oxide-silicon MIS structures. The results have demonstrated the potential of using yttrium oxide as a gate dielectric.