Electrical and physical properties of HfO2 deposited via ALD using Hf(OtBu)4 and ozone atop Al2O3

HfO 2 films were deposited via Hf(OtBu) 4 precursor and ozone oxidant using atomic layer deposition (ALD) atop Al 2 O 3 . We report the impact of annealing conditions on the physical and electrical properties of a HfO 2 on Al 2 O 3 /SiN/Si substrate using medium-energy ion scattering spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, thermal desorption spectra, and electrical measurements. Annealing temperatures influence the microstructure and impurity levels of Hf(OtBu) 4 HfO 2 /Al 2 O 3 /SiN films. The leakage currents of Al 2 O 3 -HfO 2 bilayer were decreased with the increase of annealing temperature and the structures of the bilayer did not break until 850°C. This change was closely related to the reduction of carbon and organic contamination during annealing. However, annealing at 950°C drastically degraded electrical properties due to the intermixing of the HfO 2 -Al 2 O 3 bilayer structure.