Determination of Energy Band Alignment in Ultrathin Hf-based Oxide/Pt System

Effect of incorporating a third element into HfO2 on the electronic structures has been studied by high resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Hf-IIIa (La, Y, Gd, and Dy) oxide and Hf-Ti oxide films were deposited on a Pt layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and co-sputtering and followed by post-deposition annealing in O2 ambience at 500°C. The energy bandgap (Eg) of these Hf-based oxide films was determined by analyzing the energy loss spectra of O 1s photoelectrons in consideration of the overlap with Hf 4s core-line signals. From analyses of the valence band signals and the cut-off energy for photoelectrons, the valence band offset between the Hf based-oxide, and the Pt electrode and the work function value of the Pt layer were evaluated. By combining the oxide bandgap values, the valence band line-ups, and the Pt work function value, the energy band profile of the Hf-based oxide/Pt has been determined.