Properties of thin films of high-k oxides grown by atomic layer deposition at low temperature for electronic applications

Thin films of high-k oxides are presently used in semiconductor industry as gate dielectrics. In this work, we present the comparison of structural, morphological and electrical properties of binary and composite layers of high-k oxides that include hafnium dioxide (HfO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). We deposit thin films of high-k oxides using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and low growth temperature (60–240 °C). Optimal technological growth parameters were selected for the maximum smoothness, amorphous microstructure, low leakage current, high dielectric strength of dielectric thin films, required for gate applications. High quality of the layers is confirmed by their introduction to test electronic structures, such as thin film capacitors, transparent thin film capacitors and transparent thin film transistors. In the latter structure we use semiconductor layers of zinc oxide (ZnO) and insulating layers of high-k oxide grown by the ALD technique at low temperature (no more than 100 °C).