Erbium-oxide-based metal-insulator-semiconductor structures on silicon

Reactively evaporated and thermally oxidized erbium-oxide-based metal-insulator-semiconductor structures have been studied on p-type silicon. Erbium films of thickness 280 Å were deposited by electron beam evaporation in an oxygen atmosphere with the substrate held at room temperature. The oxidation of erbium was performed in an atmosphere of dry oxygen by ramping the furnace from room temperature to a final temperature of 700°C. The surface morphology of the erbium oxide was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and the structure was determined by X-ray diffraction. The electrical characterization of the Al/erbium oxide/p-Si was performed using capacitance-voltage and current-voltage measurements.