Structural and electrical characterization of ALCVD ZrO2 thin films on silicon

We report on the structural and electrical properties of ZrO₂ thin layers grown on Si by atomic layer chemical vapour deposition. Atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry have been used to characterize as-grown and annealed samples. High frequency capacitance-voltage measurements have been performed to determine the capacitance of the gate dielectric stack. The ZrO₂ film is found to be polycrystalline. Electrical and structural data suggest a coherent picture of film modification upon annealing.