High-resolution interfacial studies of nano-scale oxide films
EMSL Project ID
18895
Abstract
Thin film transition metal-oxides are of great interest to a number of areas ranging from nano-electronic devices to alternate energy technologies. We propose to use the unique ion beam facilities at PNNL for basic research towards understanding the structure, composition and thermal stability of oxide films such as CeO2, Y-doped ZrO2 and HfO2 on Si and high mobility semiconductor substrates such as Ge and InAs. In particular, we plan to use ion scattering methods such as nuclear reaction analysis to study precisely the amount of oxygen present in the thin film as a function of thermal treatment in controlled oxygen partial pressures performed in-situ in the ion beam chamber. This will help understand the kinetics of oxygen transport through such oxides and also enable monitoring changes at the oxide-semiconductor interface. Ion channeling experiments will also reveal any disordering occurring at the interface during the thermal treatment. In addition, we plan to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the interfaces in cross-section to correlate with ion scattering results. The experiments proposed here plan to take advantage of the unique instrumentation at PNNL and is also a good fit with the theme of "Science of Interfacial Phenomena".
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2006-07-28
End Date
2009-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members