In-gap states in titanium dioxide and oxynitride atomic layer deposited films

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Abstract
Valence band (VB) spectra of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and oxynitride (TiOxNy) films prepared by different atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes are compared and related to electrical characterization [current–voltage (JV) and capacitance–voltage (CV)] results. By increasing the nitrogen amount in the TiO2 film, band-gap narrowing is observed. The band-gap decrease is related to the contribution of the nitrogen density of states, which induces defects within the band-gap and thus reduces its optical band-gap. In-gap states are found in the VB spectra at 1 eV below the Fermi energy in all investigated ALD samples, i.e., in TiO2 as well as in TiOxNy films. An exponential correlation between leakage current density and in-gap state intensity is derived by the combination of JV measurements and VB spectra, whereas the in-gap states seem to have no influence on hysteresis and fixed oxide charges found in the CV data. It is argued that the in-gap states in TiO2 and TiOxNy have an excitonic or polaronic origin. Both, band-gap narrowing and in-gap state intensity can be tuned by the ALD process selection and the variation of its parameters.
Funding Information
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (745/31-1)
  • Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (16KN033522)
  • Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (03IN2V4)

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