Effect of ZrO2 incorporation into high dielectric Gd2O3 film grown on Si(111)

Gd2O3 films, in which ZrO2 was incorporated, were epitaxially grown on Si(111) using an electron-beam evaporation and effusion method. The crystalline structure and morphological characteristics were investigated by various measurements. A silicide layer was locally formed during the initial growth stage due to interactions between elemental Gd and Si in the Gd2O3 film, resulting in poor interfacial characteristics and extensive destruction of the crystalline structure. However, the incorporation of ZrO2 influenced the unit-cell structure of Gd2O3, which contains oxygen vacancies that is located diagonally, enhancing the structural stability owing to the effective suppression of the interfacial layer. The effect on the initial growth stage as the result of incorporation improves the crystalline quality of the epitaxial Gd2O3 film and structural coherence between the film and substrate.