Chemical phase separation in Zr silicate alloys: a spectroscopic study distinguishing between chemical phase separation with different degrees of micro- and nano-crystallinity

Chemical phase separation is an important issue for process integration of non-crystalline Zr and Hf silicate alloys into advanced microelectronic devices. Chemical phase separation of Zr silicates into ZrO2 and SiO2 has been detected by different spectroscopic techniques, including Fourier transform infrared, X-ray photoelectron, X-ray absorption, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopies, as well as X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging. This combination of techniques identifies an unambiguous way to distinguish between chemical phase separation with different degrees of micro- and nano-crystallinity. This is important since all modes of chemical separation degrade dielectric properties required for device applications.