Electrochemical Oxidation of Hf-Nb Alloys as a Valuable Route to Prepare Mixed Oxides of Tailored Dielectric Properties

Metal oxides with high dielectric constant are extensively studied in the frame of substituting SiO2 as gate dielectric in nanoelectronic devices. Here, high-k mixed HfO2/Nb2O5 oxides are prepared by a facile electrochemical route starting from sputtering-deposited Hf–Nb alloys with several compositions. Transmission electron microscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy are employed to study the oxide structures, disclosing a crystalline–amorphous transition of the electrochemically prepared oxides by increasing the Nb content. Photo-electrochemical measurements allow the observation of optical transitions ascribed to localized states ins…