Vacancy-Type Defects in HfO2 Layers and Their Role in Amorphous-to-Crystalline Transition Studied by Monoenergetic Positron Beams

The annealing properties of vacancies in HfO2 layers deposited on Si substrates and their role in amorphous-to-crystalline transition were studied with monoenergetic positron beams. HfO2 layers with a thickness of 4–30 nm were fabricated by the atomic layer deposition technique. The major vacancy-type defects in these layers were identified as a Hf vacancy (VHf) coupled with multiple oxygen vacancies (VOs) and larger vacancy clusters. After annealing at 500°C, the concentration of vacancy clusters started to increase, which was attributed to the agglomeration of intrinsic open spaces in the amorphous phase upon the phase transition from amorphous to monoclinic crystalline phases. The amorphous-crystalline transition started near the interface between the HfO2 layer and bottom electrodes (TiN). After the crystallization, the concentration of vacancy clusters decreased as the annealing temperature increased.