Interfacial reactions between thin rare-earth-metal oxide films and Si substrates

Abstract

Rare-earth-metal oxide films (Ln2O3; Ln=Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Tm, and Yb) between 20 and 30 nm thick were grown on Si substrates by using a pyrolysis method. We found that a silicate (LnSiO) layer and a silicon oxide layer were formed at the interface between oxides and substrate after postannealing. The infrared absorption of the Si–O–Ln bonds increased as the postannealing temperature rose. The Si–O–Ln bond formation strongly depended on the ion radii of the rare-earth elements. We conclude that an interfacial silicate layer can easily be formed by a reaction with Si atoms diffusing from the substrate for oxides with larger ion radii. This is because such oxides may have a larger space between atoms. The quantity of Si–O–Si bonds also increased after postannealing. The increase in the Si–O–Si bonds for Ln2O3 was independent of the elements, and almost the same as the increases for Ta2O5 and ZrO2.