Investigation of Current Conduction Mechanism in HfO2 Thin Film on Silicon Substrate

Abstract

In this work, we have investigated current conduction mechanisms in HfO2 thin film deposited on silicon substrate by RF sputtering technique. The thin films of HfO2 were deposited on p-type silicon substrates. FTIR measurement shows the presence of hafnium in the film. Among the various conduction mechanisms the 13.7 nm thin HfO2 film on Si follows the Fowler–Nordheim (FN) tunneling. The Poole–Frenkel (PF) emission, Schottky emission (SE) and Direct Tunneling (DT) also studied. The barrier height (ϕB) of 0.74 eV is calculated from experimental work through Fowler–Nordheim tunneling mechanism.