CVD of Zr0.65Ti0.35O2 thin films using a single-source precursor of novel anhydrous mixed-metal nitrates

A novel Zr/Ti mixed metal nitrate [ZrxTi1-x(NO3)(4)] has been successfully developed as a single-source precursor to deposit multicomponent metal oxide films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirm that Zr0.65Ti0.35O2 films are successfully prepared from this anhydrous nitrate precursor using CVD. The basal dielectric properties of Zr0.65Ti0.35O2 films are studied, and well-defined C-V curves with negligible hysteresis are achieved. Compared to pure TiO2 and ZrO2 films, the Zr0.65Ti0.35O2 films exhibit a trade-off of dielectric properties with a moderate bandgap value of 4.3 eV and a value for k of 47. ZrxTi1-xO2 is, therefore, a promising candidate for gate-dielectric application, and an anhydrous mixed-metal nitrate can be a potential single-source precursor for high-k materials derived from CVD.