Yu.Yu. Lebedinskii

Effect of dielectric stoichiometry and interface chemical state on band alignment between tantalum oxide and platinum

The tantalum oxide–platinum interface electronic properties determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are found to depend on the dielectric stoichiometry and platinum chemical state. We demonstrate the slow charging of the tantalum oxide in cases of Ta2O5/Pt and Ta2O5−y/Pt interfaces under the X-ray irradiation. This behavior is proposed to be related to the charge accumulation at oxygen vacancies induced traps. Based on the proposed methodology, we define the intrinsic conductive band offset (CBO) ∼1.3 eV (both for Ta2O5/Pt and Ta2O5−y/Pt) and CBO after the full saturation of the traps charging ∼0.5 eV, while the last one defines the energy position of charged traps below the bottom of conduction band. We demonstrate also the pining at the both Ta2O5/Pt and Ta2O5−y/Pt interfaces even in the “intrinsic” state, apparently induced by the presence of additional interfacial states. No shifts of Ta4f line and band alignment in over stoichiometric Ta2O5+x/Pt structure during X-ray irradiation, as well as t...

Physical operating principles of scandate cathodes for microwave devices

The electronic structure of barium oxide crystallites determining the emission properties of both dispenser and scandate cathodes has been studied using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and optical spectroscopy. It has been established that the other elements (calcium, aluminum, scandium, and tungsten) contained in cathode materials are diluted in barium oxide and significantly affect its electronic structure and, consequently, emission properties. The obtained results give an idea about the physical and physicochemical mechanisms of the effect of scandium on the reduction of the work function of scandate cathodes relative to that of the cathodes of other types.

Nonvolatile memory cells based on the effect of resistive switching in depth-graded ternary Hf x Al1 − x O y oxide films

A nonvolatile memory cell prototype based on the effect of resistive switching in thin HfxAl1 − xOy oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a Al depth-graded profile has been developed. This prototype imitates the arrangement of memory cells between the metallization layers of integral circuits. The obtained results are much superior to the parameters of conventional flash memory cells in increasing the reset speed and decreasing the reset voltage.

Atomic layer deposition of tantalum oxide with controlled oxygen deficiency for making resistive memory structures

TaOx films with controlled ratio of Ta4+ and Ta5+ atoms were prepared at different hydrogen concentrations in plasma. As shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, the chemical state of Ta4+ corresponds to oxygen vacancies in the TaOx film. Electrophysical studies of the metal–dielectric–metal structures revealed an increase in the leakage current by four orders of magnitude as the hydrogen concentration in the plasma was increased from 7 to 70%, which is due to an increase in the concentration of oxygen vacancies in TaOx. A test structure of a resistive memory cell was made on the basis of the nonstoichiometric TaOx obtained. It withstood more than 106 rewriting cycles. The suggested atomic layer deposition process shows promise for solving one of the main problems of resistive memory: extension of its working life.

Size-ordered 63Ni nanocluster film as a betavoltaic battery unit

We create thin metallic films formed as a size-ordered deposition of Ni nanoclusters whose sizes are distributed over the range of 2–7 nm. The morphology, chemical composition, and electrical characteristics of the films are measured. The conductivity of the films under investigation changes approximately as the inverse square root of the average nanocluster size. We observe experimentally that, under irradiation by electrons with energies of 10–25 keV, the films show signs of being subjected to the electromotive force. We discuss how this effect is connected with the size-ordered spatial distribution of metallic nanoclusters. We analyze the possibility of using 63Ni nanocluster films in betavoltaic battery units and estimate the expected efficiency of converting β-decay energy into electricity.