Effects of deposition temperature on the microstructural and electrical properties of praseodymium oxide-based films

Praseodymium oxide-based dielectric thin films have been grown using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique on p- and n-type Si (0 0 1) substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses have revealed that depositions at 750 °C in 1.33 × 10−1 Pa oxygen partial pressure have produced Pr2O3 films with a praseodymium silicate bottom layer. The influence of deposition temperature has been evaluated carrying out deposition experiments in the 450–850 °C range. The structural characterization of praseodymium oxide-based films has been performed using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Films deposited in the low deposition temperature range (450–650 °C) are quite amorphous and the praseodymium silicate bottom layer thickness is smaller than in the case of high temperature deposited films. In the 650–850 °C deposition temperature range hexagonal Pr2O3 polycrystalline films have been grown. Finally, the electrical properties of both amorphous and polycrystalline praseodymium oxide films have been investigated and compared.