Depicting the Electronic Structure of HfO2 Films By Spectroscopic Techniques

The electronic structure of HfO2 films was investigated. The partial density of states for the valence and the conduction bands was determined by the detailed analysis of the O1s resonance profile by resonant photoelectron spectroscopy. The positions of valence band maximum and conduction band minimum, the excitation range for the polaronic states and the range of charge transfer band were found to be not influenced by the preparation conditions. The band gap was determined to be 6.2 eV and the energy of the charge neutrality level (referred to vacuum level) was determined as 4.7 eV. The Fermi level position was observed to vary about 1.2 eV depending on the preparation conditions, which indicates the presence of charges within the films.