Light emission from conductive paths in nanocrystalline CdSe embedded Zr-doped HfO_2 high-k stack

摘要

Electrical and optical properties of the solid state incandescent light emitting devices made of zirconium doped hafnium oxide high-k films with and without an embedded nanocrystalline CdSe layer on the p-type Si wafer have been studied. The broad band white light was emitted from nano sized conductive paths through the thermal excitation mechanism. Conductive paths formed from the dielectric breakdown have been confirmed from scanning electron microscopic and atomic force microscopic images and the secondary ion mass spectrometric elemental profiles. Si was diffused from the wafer to the device surface through the conductive path during the high temperature light emission process. There are many potential applications of this type of device.