Magnesium oxide as a candidate high-{kappa} gate dielectric

Magnesium oxide (MgO) thin films with sharp interfaces were deposited by sputtering of a Mg target on Si. The film stack was characterized using spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission electron microscopy and the film static dielectric constant ({kappa}) and interface traps were determined. An amorphous SiO{sub 2} layer was found at the MgO/Si interface as a result of subcutaneous Si oxidation. {kappa} for the MgO films was found to be about twice that of SiO{sub 2}, and the interface trap densities of MgO/Si were found to be comparable with SiO{sub 2}/Si, rendering MgO competitive with all presently considered high-{kappa} dielectrics.