Initial stages of praseodymium oxide film formation on Si(001)

Pr(2)O(3) may be an alternative high-K gate dielectric material for silicon integrated circuits, i,e., it has a dielectric constant K greater than or equal to 25 and is currently under consideration as potential replacement for SiO(2) as the gate dielectric material for sub-0.1 mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that the initial stages of heteroepitaxial Pr(2)O(3) grown on Si(0 0 1) consist of a mixed PrO(2)/Pr(2)O(3) phase. First ab initio calculation results also indicate the formation of an ultra-thin Si-O interlayer between the Si substrate and Pr(2)O(3). In the monolayer range of deposited Pr(2)O(3). Auger electron spectroscopy measurements show that the oxide is completely decomposed above 780 degreesC, (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.