Properties of Pr-based high k dielectric films obtained by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

We report the results of a recent study on the deposition of praseodymium oxides thin films on silicon substrates by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD). A suited Pr(III) beta-diketonate precursor has been used as the metal source and the deposition conditions have been carefully selected because of a large variety of possible Pro(2-x) (x= 0-0.5) phases. Pr2O3 films have been obtained in a hot-wall MOCVD reactor under non oxidising ambient at 750degreesC deposition temperature. The structural and morphological characteristics of Pr2O3 films have been carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Chemical compositional studies have been performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis and a fully understanding of the MOCVD process has been achieved. Preliminary electrical measurements point to MOCVD as a reliable growth technique to obtain good quality praseodymium oxide based films.