Preparation and Characterization of Transition/Rare-earth Metal Complex Oxides for Future MOS Device Applications

It has been recognized that the use of high-dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectric material is an effective technological option for boosting the performance of present metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology, and it will be the only choice for future nanoscale MOS devices that require a sub-nanometer thick gate oxide to maintain their current flow. However, there are still a number of issues that need to be solved before this new material can be incorporated into existing MOS technology. This project aims to provide a systematic study of the properties and constraints of advanced high-k gate dielectric materials based on transition and rare-earth metal complex oxides. The emphasis will be placed on the atomic and electronic structures of the complex oxide alloys. The material properties associated with electronic structures, such as thermal stability, defects, and leakage current characteristics, will also be investigated. The results of this work will be directly applicable to the state-of-art MOS technology.