Abstract
Metal oxide thin films are ubiquitous in technological applications. Often, multiple metal components are used to achieve desired film properties for specific functions. Solution deposition offers an attractive route for producing these multimetal oxides because it allows for careful control of film composition through the manipulation of precursor stoichiometry. Although it has been generally assumed that homogeneous precursor solutions yield homogeneous thin films, we recently reported evidence of nonuniform electron density profiles in aqueous-deposited films. Herein, we show that nonuniform electron densities in lanthanum zirconium oxide (LZO) thin films are the result of inhomogeneous distributions of metal components. Specifically, La aggregates at the film surface, whereas Zr is relatively evenly distributed throughout single-layer films. This inhomogeneous metal distribution persists in stacked multilayer films, resulting in La-rich interfaces between the sequentially deposited layers. Testing of metal-insulator-semiconductor devices fabricated from single and multilayer LZO films shows that multilayer films have higher dielectric constants, indicating that La-rich interfaces in multilayer films do not detrimentally impact film properties. We attribute the enhanced dielectric properties of multilayer films to greater condensation and densification relative to single-layer films, and these results suggest that multilayer films may be preferred for device applications despite the presence of layering artifacts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 37476-37483 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 42 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 25 2017 |
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Keywords
- density gradients
- lanthanum zirconium oxide
- layering artifacts
- multilayer thin films
- nonuniform composition
- solution deposition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
Cite this
Nonuniform Composition Profiles in Amorphous Multimetal Oxide Thin Films Deposited from Aqueous Solution. / Woods, Keenan N.; Thomas, Milana C.; Mitchson, Gavin; Ditto, Jeffrey; Xu, Can; Kayal, Donna; Frisella, Kathleen C.; Gustafsson, Torgny; Garfunkel, Eric; Chabal, Yves J.; Johnson, David C.; Page, Catherine J.
In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 9, No. 42, 25.10.2017, p. 37476-37483.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Nonuniform Composition Profiles in Amorphous Multimetal Oxide Thin Films Deposited from Aqueous Solution
AU - Woods, Keenan N.
AU - Thomas, Milana C.
AU - Mitchson, Gavin
AU - Ditto, Jeffrey
AU - Xu, Can
AU - Kayal, Donna
AU - Frisella, Kathleen C.
AU - Gustafsson, Torgny
AU - Garfunkel, Eric
AU - Chabal, Yves J.
AU - Johnson, David C.
AU - Page, Catherine J.
PY - 2017/10/25
Y1 - 2017/10/25
N2 - Metal oxide thin films are ubiquitous in technological applications. Often, multiple metal components are used to achieve desired film properties for specific functions. Solution deposition offers an attractive route for producing these multimetal oxides because it allows for careful control of film composition through the manipulation of precursor stoichiometry. Although it has been generally assumed that homogeneous precursor solutions yield homogeneous thin films, we recently reported evidence of nonuniform electron density profiles in aqueous-deposited films. Herein, we show that nonuniform electron densities in lanthanum zirconium oxide (LZO) thin films are the result of inhomogeneous distributions of metal components. Specifically, La aggregates at the film surface, whereas Zr is relatively evenly distributed throughout single-layer films. This inhomogeneous metal distribution persists in stacked multilayer films, resulting in La-rich interfaces between the sequentially deposited layers. Testing of metal-insulator-semiconductor devices fabricated from single and multilayer LZO films shows that multilayer films have higher dielectric constants, indicating that La-rich interfaces in multilayer films do not detrimentally impact film properties. We attribute the enhanced dielectric properties of multilayer films to greater condensation and densification relative to single-layer films, and these results suggest that multilayer films may be preferred for device applications despite the presence of layering artifacts.
AB - Metal oxide thin films are ubiquitous in technological applications. Often, multiple metal components are used to achieve desired film properties for specific functions. Solution deposition offers an attractive route for producing these multimetal oxides because it allows for careful control of film composition through the manipulation of precursor stoichiometry. Although it has been generally assumed that homogeneous precursor solutions yield homogeneous thin films, we recently reported evidence of nonuniform electron density profiles in aqueous-deposited films. Herein, we show that nonuniform electron densities in lanthanum zirconium oxide (LZO) thin films are the result of inhomogeneous distributions of metal components. Specifically, La aggregates at the film surface, whereas Zr is relatively evenly distributed throughout single-layer films. This inhomogeneous metal distribution persists in stacked multilayer films, resulting in La-rich interfaces between the sequentially deposited layers. Testing of metal-insulator-semiconductor devices fabricated from single and multilayer LZO films shows that multilayer films have higher dielectric constants, indicating that La-rich interfaces in multilayer films do not detrimentally impact film properties. We attribute the enhanced dielectric properties of multilayer films to greater condensation and densification relative to single-layer films, and these results suggest that multilayer films may be preferred for device applications despite the presence of layering artifacts.
KW - density gradients
KW - lanthanum zirconium oxide
KW - layering artifacts
KW - multilayer thin films
KW - nonuniform composition
KW - solution deposition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032896193&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85032896193&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.7b12462
DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b12462
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85032896193
VL - 9
SP - 37476
EP - 37483
JO - ACS applied materials & interfaces
JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces
SN - 1944-8244
IS - 42
ER -