Improvement of interfacial and microstructure properties of high-k ZrO2 thin films fabricated by filtered cathodic arc deposition using nitrogen incorporation

We investigate the microstructure and interfacial characteristics of nitrogen plasma-nitrided ZrO2 thin films deposited on p-type Si (100) wafers by cathodic arc deposition. The results show that the incorporation of a small amount of N into ZrO2 can improve the thermal stability of the thin films. High resolution transmission electron microscopy micrographs further confirm that the nitrided film remains amorphous and the interfacial layer has been essentially suppressed. The effects and underlying mechanism are discussed.