Characterization of thin Gd 2 O 3 magnetron sputtered layers

Reactive magnetron sputtering technique using O 2 /Ar gas mixture was used to deposit Gd 2 O 3 layers. Following metallization process of Al allowed to create MIS structures, which electrical parameters (κ, D it , U FB , ρ, etc.) were measured using high frequency C-V equipment. Created layers exhibit high permittivity (κ≈12) at 100kHz. I-V measurements point out on maximum electric break down field E br ≈0.4 MV/cm and maximum break down voltage U br ≈ 16V. Layers were morphologically tested using AFM technique (R a ≈ 0.5÷2nm). Layer thicknesses as well as refractive indexes (RI ≈ 1.50÷2.05) were estimated using ellipsometry measurements.