Dielectric and Interface Properties of Aluminum-Laminated Lanthanum Oxide on Silicon for Nanoscale Device Applications

By embedding an aluminum-laminated layer within La₂O₃ thin films and subjecting them to high-temperature rapid thermal annealing, a La₂O₃/LaAl<i>_x</i>O<i>_y</i>/La₂O₃ sandwich dielectric was formed. This structure enhances the interface properties with both the silicon substrate and the metal gate electrode, improving current conduction. Comprehensive analysis using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that this novel process not only facilitates the formation of a high-quality lanthanum aluminate layer, as indicated with Al 2p peak at 74.5 eV, but also effectively suppresses silicate layer growth, as supported by the weak Si-O signal from both the Si 2s (153.9 eV) and O 1s (533 eV) peaks at the dielectric/Si interface in the Al-laminated samples. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed a significant reduction in the OH absorption peak at 3608 cm^-1 OH-related band centered at 3433 cm^-1. These improvements are attributed to the aluminum-laminated layer, which blocks oxygen and hydroxyl diffusion, the LaAl<i>_x</i>O<i>_y</i> layer scavenging interface silicon oxide, and the consumption of oxygen during LaAl<i>_x</i>O<i>_y</i> formation under thermal annealing. Electrical measurements confirmed that the dielectric films exhibited significantly lower interface and oxide trap densities compared to native La₂O₃ samples. This approach provides a promising method for fabricating high-quality lanthanum-based gate dielectric films with controlled dielectric/substrate interactions, making it suitable for nano-CMOS and memristive device applications.