Spontaneous nanoclustering of ZrO2 in atomic layer deposited LayZr1-yOx thin films

During at. layer deposition of homogeneous LayZr1-yOx thin films spontaneous segregation of ZrO2 nanocrystals that are embedded in an amorphous La2O3 matrix takes place. This occurs if the Zr content in the LayZr1-yOx film rises >30%, i.e., if the pulse ratio between the La precursor and the Zr precursor is larger than four. X-ray diffraction anal. shows that the ZrO2 nanocrystals are in the tetragonal phase, which is the most stable configuration of this material with the highest dielec. permittivity. These nanocrystal-embedded thin films exhibit higher dielec. consts. as the Zr content increases. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [on SciFinder (R)