Semiconductor etc... BLOG

I am glad to be back after the long break as there are several interesting issues on which I would like to comment.

First, in the spirit of my earlier post (”Era of materials and elaborate material systems” of January 12, 2010) a quick observation with regard to the still expanding pool of elements from which semiconductor researchers and engineers are drawing to build better performing devices. Most you may not remember it, but, as I was commenting earlier, for years it was all about silicon, oxygen, nitrogen, and aluminum. It was all that was needed to fabricate most of the devices including early ICs. Then the copper joined in, then … Well, as the needs are growing and complexity of devices increases rapidly, it seems as almost every element in the periodic table is of potential interest to the semiconductor community these days.

Let’s consider gate dielectrics for instance. After exploring transition metals oxides (e.g. HfO₂, ZrO₂ TiO₂, Ta₂O₅ etc.), and focusing attention on hafnia, the search for yet the other substitutes for the SiON based dielectrics digs even deeper into the periodic table. Oxides of rare earth metals consisting mostly of lanthanides (look for them at the bottom of the periodic table) attracted a great deal of attention recently.

How about gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃ ) also know as gadolinia? To the old-time “semiconductorer” such as me it sounds rather exotic. I will be back with some more specific comments on gadolinia soon.