An analysis was made of the effects of Mg incorporation into HfO2 upon reduction

in the positive charges associated with oxygen vacancies VO

2. The comprehensive

study using first-principles calculations revealed that a Mg atom substituted for Hf

was stable in charge negative MgHf

2- and strongly binds with VO

2; neutralizing the

defect. This contributed to the suppressing of the electron traps at the defect site,

improving the reliability of Hf-based gate oxides.

Reduction in Charged Defects Associated with Oxygen Vacancies in Hafnia by

Magnesium Incorporation: First-Principles Study. N.Umezawa, M.Sato,

K.Shiraishi: Applied Physics Letters, 2008, 93[22], 223104