Thermal stability of amorphous LaScO3 films on silicon.

Authors :: Edge, L. F.
Schlom, D. G.
Rivillon, S.
Chabal, Y. J.
Agustin, M. P.
Stemmer, S.
Lee, T.
Kim, M. J.
Craft, H. S.
Maria, J.-P.
Hawley, M. E.
Holländer, B.
Schubert, J.
Eisenbeiser, K.
Source :: Applied Physics Letters; 8/7/2006, Vol. 89 Issue 6, p062902, 3p, 1 Black and White Photograph, 2 Graphs
Publication Year :: 2006
Abstract: The thermal stability of amorphous LaScO<subscript>3</subscript> thin films deposited by molecular-beam deposition directly on (001) Si was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), transmission infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). IRAS indicated that the as-deposited films contained <0.1 Å of SiO<subscript>2</subscript> at the interface between LaScO<subscript>3</subscript> and silicon. XRD studies showed that the films remained amorphous after annealing in N<subscript>2</subscript> at 700 °C, although HRTEM showed structural order on an ∼1 nm length scale even in the as-deposited films. By 800 °C, the LaScO<subscript>3</subscript> had started to crystallize and formed a ∼5 nm thick Sc-deficient interlayer between it and silicon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]