Intriguing conducting properties of HfOxNy thin films prepared from the Hf[N(C2H5)2]4

Hafnium nitride films were prepared on the Si(100) substrates by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition method using Hf[N(C2H5)(2)](4). The prepared samples were then oxidized in air, followed by rapid-thermal annealing to produce HfOxNy thin films, meanwhile the associated physical properties were investigated. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscope analysis unveiled that the composition of the films is HfOxNy. In addition, the films after the rapid-thermal annealing treatments at various temperatures revealed salient features in their physical properties, such as capacitance and conductivity. On this basis, the feasibility of using the HfOxNy layers as high-k dielectrics in complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistors was also discussed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.