Growth and characterization of Gd2O3 thin film on Si

Gd2O3 thin films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The structure, composition and band offset were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). The results show that, the Gd2O3 thin film is amorphous when growing at 300 ℃ and is crystallized into monoclinic structure at 650 ℃. The formation of Gd-silicate interfacial layer due to interface reaction is confirmed by XRR and XPS. The valence band offset (ΔEV) of (-228±01)eV is obtained by XPS.