Effects of graphene intercalation on dielectric reliability of HfO2 and modulation of effective work function for Ni/Gr/c-HfO2 interfaces: first-principles study

Abstract We have investigated the effects of graphene intercalation on dielectric reliability of HfO2 for Ni/Gr/HfO2 interfaces, and the effects of graphene intercalation and interfacial atom vacancy on the effective work function (EWF) of Ni/Gr/HfO2 interfaces using first-principle calculation base...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kehua Zhong, Yanmin Yang, Jian-Min Zhang, Guigui Xu, Zhigao Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2018-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19411-0
Description
Summary:Abstract We have investigated the effects of graphene intercalation on dielectric reliability of HfO2 for Ni/Gr/HfO2 interfaces, and the effects of graphene intercalation and interfacial atom vacancy on the effective work function (EWF) of Ni/Gr/HfO2 interfaces using first-principle calculation based on density functional theory. The calculated results indicate that graphene intercalation can improve dielectric reliability of HfO2 dielectric even for the interfaces having interfacial oxygen vacancy or a small amount carbon vacancy. Moreover, the calculated results indicate that, inserting graphene into Ni/HfO2 interface induces the EWF’s to decline, and controlling interfacial oxygen or carbon vacancy can effectively tune the EWF of Ni/Gr/HfO2 interface. Our work strongly suggests that the use of graphene synthesized into Ni/HfO2 interface is a very effective way to improve the interface quality, and controlling interfacial oxygen or carbon vacancy is also an attractive and promising way for modulating the EWF of Ni/Gr/HfO2 interfaces.
ISSN:2045-2322