Studies of Electrical Parameters and Thermal Stability of HiPIMS Hafnium Oxynitride (HfON) Thin Films.

This work demonstrated the optimization of HiPIMS reactive magnetron sputtering of hafnium oxynitride (HfON) thin films. During the optimization procedure, employing Taguchi orthogonal tables, the parameters of examined dielectric films were explored, utilizing optical methods (spectroscopic ellipsometry and refractometry), electrical characterization (C-V, I-V measurements of MOS structures), and structural investigation (AFM, XRD, XPS). The thermal stability of fabricated HfON layers, up to 800 °C, was also investigated.