Structure and dielectric properties of ultra-thin ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films for high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis> gate dielectric application prepared by pulsed laser deposition

ZrO₂ thin films have been prepared on Pt-coated silicon substrates and directly on n-Si(100) substrates by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique using a ZrO₂ ceramic target under different deposition conditions. X-ray diffraction showed that the films prepared at 400 °C in 20 Pa oxygen ambient remained amorphous. Differential thermal analysis was carried out to study the crystallization behavior of ZrO₂. The dielectric constant of ZrO₂ was determined to be around 24 by measuring a Pt/ZrO₂/Pt capacitor structure. Sputtering depth profile X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate the interfacial characteristics of ZrO₂/n-Si stacks. A Zr silicate interfacial layer was formed between the ZrO₂ layer and the silicon substrate. The equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and leakage current densities of the films with 6.6 nm physical thickness post-annealed in O₂ and N₂ ambient were investigated. An EOT of 1.65 nm with a leakage current of 36.2 mA/cm² at 1 V gate voltage for the film post-annealed in N₂ has been obtained. ZrO₂ thin films prepared by PLD have acceptable structure and dielectric properties required by a candidate material of high-k gate dielectrics. PACS 77.55.+f; 81.15.Fg; 73.40.Qv     

Structure and electrical properties of HfO<Subscript>2</Subscript> high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis> films prepared by pulsed laser deposition on Si (100)

High-k gate dielectric hafnium dioxide films were grown on Si (100) substrate by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The as-deposited films were amorphous and that were monoclinic and orthorhombic after annealed at 500°C in air and N₂ atmosphere, respectively. After annealed, the accumulation capacitance values increase rapidly and the flat-band voltage shifts from −1.34 V to 0.449 V due to the generation of negative charges via post-annealing. The dielectric constant is in the range of 8–40 depending on the microstructure. The I–V curve indicates that the films possess of a promising low leakage current density of 4.2×10⁻⁸ A/cm² at the applied voltage of −1.5 V.     

Characterization and electrical properties of high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis> GdScO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

Gadolinium scandium oxide (Gd-scandate, GdScO₃) thin films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) from β-diketonate precursors M(thd)₃ (M=Gd, Sc; thd=2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) and ozone. The deposition parameters were optimized to produce films with the stoichiometric 1:1 metal ratio and a series of samples with nominal thicknesses of 5, 10, 15, and 20 nm were prepared. At 300 °C the metal precursor pulsing ratio Gd:Sc=5:6 yielded amorphous stoichiometric films and a growth rate of 0.21 Å/cycle. The films stayed amorphous up to 900 °C. The surface was probed with an AFM and the rms roughness was found to be 0.3 nm for the 5–20 nm thick films. The electrical properties of the as-deposited films proved to be very promising, with a dielectric constant of ～22 and leakage current density of 340 μA/cm², measured at -2 V.     

Recent high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> results from STAR

We present selected recent results of multi-hadron correlation measurements in azimuth and pseudorapidity at intermediate and high p _T in Au+Au collisions at , from the STAR experiment at RHIC. At intermediate p _T , measurements are presented that attempt to determine the origin of the associated near-side (small Δφ) yield at large pseudo-rapidity difference Δη that is found to be present in heavy ion collisions. In addition, results are reported on new multi-hadron correlation measures at high-p _T that use di-hadron triggers and multi-hadron cluster triggers with the goal to constrain the underlying jet kinematics better than in the existing measurements of inclusive spectra and di-hadron correlations.     

Investigations of the interlayer coupling in high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript> cuprates

Low-field magnetizationM(H) measurements can be used to probe the nature of the screening currents and the interlayer coupling in high-T _c cuprates. Here we compare theM(H) behaviour of single crystals of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ and fully oxygenated and oxygen reduced YBa₂Cu₃O_7??. In YBa₂Cu₃O₇, theM(H) behaviour is consistent with anisotropic 3D superconductivity whilst in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈, the surface screening currents are strongly affected by the presence of vortices, implying that the CuO₂ planes are coupled via a weak Josephson interaction. In oxygen-deficient YBa₂Cu₃O_6.7 (T _c =63K), theM(H) behaviour at low temperatures is similar to that found for Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈, implying that the removal of oxygen from the chains has resulted in a dimensional crossover of the superconducting state in YBa₂Cu₃O_7??. As the temperature approachesT _c , the 3D behaviour is eventually restored as thec-axis coherence length ξ _c becomes comparable with the interlayer spacingd.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis>-Scaling and high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> particle production in hadron-hadron and hadron-nucleus collisions at high energies

The general features of particle production in hadron-hadron and hadron-nucleus collisions at high energy and transverse momentum using the concept of z-scaling are reviewed. z-Presentation of experimental data on the inclusive cross sections obtained at ISR, SPS, and Tevatron is presented and its properties are discussed. It is argued that the properties reflect the fundamental symmetries such as self-similarity, locality, and fractality. z-Scaling is used to predict particle yields in hadron-hadron and hadron-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. The violation of z-scaling is considered as a signature of new physics phenomena.     

Energy and system dependence of high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> triggered two-particle near-side correlations

Previous studies have indicated that the near-side peak of high-p _T triggered correlations can be decomposed into two parts, the Jet and the Ridge. We present data on the yield per trigger of the Jet and the Ridge from d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at GeV and 200 GeV and compare data on the Jet to PYTHIA 8.1 simulations for p+p. PYTHIA describes the Jet component up to a scaling factor, meaning that PYTHIA can provide a better understanding of the Ridge by giving insight into the effects of the kinematic cuts. We present collision energy and system dependence of the Ridge yield, which should help distinguish models for the production mechanism of the Ridge.     

Possible universal cause of high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript> superconductivity in different metals

Using the theory of high-temperature superconductivity based on the idea of the fermion-condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT), we show that neither the d-wave pairing symmetry, the pseudogap phenomenon, nor the presence of the Cu-O₂ planes is of decisive importance for the existence of high-T _c superconductivity. We analyze recent experimental data on this type of superconductivity in different materials and show that these facts can be understood within the theory of superconductivity based on the FCQPT. The latter can be considered as a universal cause of high-T _c superconductivity. The main features of a room-temperature superconductor are discussed.     

On the degeneracy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">SU</Emphasis>(3)<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis></Subscript> topological phases

The ground state degeneracy of an SU(N) _k topological phase with n quasiparticle excitations is a relevant quantity for quantum computation, condensed matter physics, and knot theory. It is an open question to find a closed formula for this degeneracy for any N >2. Here we present the problem in an explicit combinatorial way and analyze the case N = 3. While not finding a complete closed-form solution, we obtain generating functions and solve some special cases.     

Fermion Localization on the <Emphasis Type="Italic">orbifold</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis><Subscript>1</Subscript>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>

The hierarchical structure of fermion masses of the Standard Model is explained in split fermion models by localizing the fermions at different points in an extra dimension. We consider split fermion models with two bulk scalars compactified on an orbifold. In the static case we find analytical expression for the localizer. We also address the issue of stability of the localizer. We also find exact solutions for the fermion zero modes. We explore the parameter space of the model. We find ample opportunity for construction of phenomenologically viable theories exist.     

Optical characteristics of nickel and boron carbonitride films in Si(100)/Ni/BC<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>N<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> structures

The optical characteristics of nickel films deposited on Si(100) substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation have been studied. The thickness and optical constants of the films are determined using monochromatic zero ellipsometry, while the inverse problems are solved within the three-layer optical model of the samples. It is shown that thermal annealing leads to a change in the optical constants of nickel films in the heating-temperature range of 500–900°C. Boron carbonitride layers deposited on silicon substrates with a nickel sublayer are analyzed within multilayer optical models, which make it possible to determine the refractive index and absorption coefficient distributions along the thickness of the synthesized Si(100)/Ni/BC _x N _y structure.     

Hadroproduction of heavy quarkonia at high energies within the <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript>-factorization approach

On the basis of the k _T -factorization approach, heavy-quarkonium \((c\bar c,b\bar b)\) hadroproduction at high energies is considered within nonrelativistic QCD in the leading order in α _s and v. The p _T spectra of various S-and P-wave quarkonium states at the Tevatron collider energies (run I and run II) are fitted, and sets of octet nonperturbative matrix elements are obtained for three different versions of the noncollinear gluon distribution in the proton.     

Anisotropy of amorphous nanogranular composites CoNbTa-SiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> and CoFeB-SiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript>

A comparative investigation of the magnetic properties of amorphous nanogranular composites (Co₄₁Fe₃₉B₂₀) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} and (Co₈₆Nb₁₂Ta₂) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} has been performed in the subpercolation region at temperatures in the range 4.2–300 K. The thermomagnetic dependences in the range 4.2–300 K and the processes of magnetization reversal and remanent magnetization relaxation at liquid-helium temperatures have been studied. It has been established that the average anisotropy constants of amorphous nanograins are equal to 3.6–7.0 kJ/m³ for the (Co₄₁Fe₃₉B₂₀) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} composites and 5–8 kJ/m³ for the (Co₈₆Nb₁₂Ta₂) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} composites. The fundamental differences in the concentration dependences of the anisotropy constant K _eff and the coercive force H _C have been revealed for the two systems under investigation. It has been demonstrated that, as the concentration of the metal phase increases, the quantities K _eff and H _C increase for the (Co₈₆Nb₁₂Ta₂) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} composites and decrease for the (Co₄₁Fe₃₉B₂₀) _x (SiO _n )_{100 − x} composites.     

Longitudinal structure function <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis><Subscript>L</Subscript>: Perturbative QCD and <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis><Subscript>T</Subscript>-factorization versus experimental data at fixed <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis>

We use the results for the structure function F_L for a gluon target with a nonzero transverse momentum squared at the order α_s, obtained in our previous paper, for comparison with recent H1 experimental data for F_L at fixed W values and with collinear GRV predictions in the leading-order and next-to-leading-order approximations.     

Radiative <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>3</Subscript> decays revisited

Motivated by recent experimental results and ongoing measurements, we review the chiral perturbation theory prediction for decays. Special emphasis is given to the stability of the inner bremsstrahlung-dominated relative branching ratio versus the K _e3 form factors, and on the separation of the structure-dependent amplitude in differential distributions over the phase space. For the structure-dependent terms, an assessment of the order p ⁶ corrections is given, in particular, a full next-to-leading order calculation of the axial component is performed. The experimental analysis of the photon energy spectrum is discussed, and other potentially useful distributions are introduced.Received: 9 December 2004, Published online: 21 February 2005PACS: 13.20.Eb, 11.30.Rd, 12.39.Fe     

Pseudogap behavior of nuclear spin relaxation in high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript> superconductors in terms of phase separation

We analyze anew experiments on the NMR in cuprates and find an important information on their phase separation and its strip character hidden in the dependence of 1/⁶³T₁ on the degree of doping. In a broad class of materials, 1/⁶³T₁ is the sum of two terms: the temperature-independent one attributed to “ incommensurate” strips that occur at external doping and a “universal” temperature-dependent term ascribed to moving metallic and antiferromagnetic subphases. We argue that the frustrated first-order phase transition in a broad temperature interval bears a dynamical character.