In this planning visit funded by the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering, Robert M. Wallace will travel to the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (FURGS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil to coordinate plans for a collaborative research project with Prof. Israel J. Baumvol. The subjects of the potential project are ion-beam characterization of hafnium-based materials and diffusion mechanisms of film constituents with the silicon substrate after various thermal treatments. The laboratories at both UNT and FURGS have complementary research capabilities that can be used to study the apparent contradictions in conclusions reached at each institution regarding interdiffusion effects in hafnium-based dielectrics. They can study these effects by synthesizing and characterizing films with identical interfacial layer properties. The effect of oxidation annealing on nitrided Hf-silicate films can also be examined.
This planning visit will allow Dr. Wallace to examine the facilities and techniques available at FURGS in order to compare them with the high-k dielectric materials-synthesis capabilities at the University of North Texas (UNT). It will also give the two researchers the opportunity to define the projects for the proposals they will submit to their respective funding agencies. This research should have direct technological interest and relevance to the global semiconductor industry. The visit will also enable the researchers to discuss teaching and training of the students associated with each group in terms of expected student exchanges. Such exchanges would not only transfer research knowledge and expertise directly, but they also contribute to the students' cultural education.
