In this paper the effects of 5 MeV proton irradiation on nitrided SiO₂/4H-SiC metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors are studied in detail and the related mechanisms are revealed. The density of interface states (Dit) is increased with the irradiation doses, and the annealing response suggests that the worse of Dit is mainly caused by displacement effect of proton irradiation. However, the X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement shows that the quantity proportion of breaking of Si≡N induced by displacement is only 8%, which means that the numbers of near interface electron traps (NIETs) and near interface hole traps (NIHTs) are not significantly changed by the displacement effect. The measurements of bidirectional high frequency (HF) C-V characteristics and positive bias stress stability show that the number of un-trapped NIETs and oxide electron traps decreased with increasing irradiation doses because they are filled by electrons resulted from the ionization effect of proton irradiation, benefiting to the field effective mobility (μ_FE) and threshold voltage stability of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). The obviously negative shift of flat-band voltage (V_FB) resulted from the dominant NIHTs induced by nitrogen passivation capture more holes produced by ionization effect, which has been revealed by the experimental samples with different nitrogen content under same irradiation dose.

(Al₂O₃)_x(HfO₂)_1−x films with varying compositions were deposited on silicon substrates via plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD), and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors were fabricated. The impact of varying induced Al content on the dielectric properties of HfO₂ was examined through electrical measurements. The results showed that increasing Al content raised the flat-band voltage, reduced the interface state density (D_it), and significantly lowered the leakage current at a given voltage. Moreover, room temperature I-V measurements indicated that Schottky emission (~ 0.8–4.8 MV/cm), Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission (~ 4.8–7.3 MV/cm), and Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling (~ 7.3–8.3 MV/cm) were the dominant current mechanisms under varying electric fields. At higher temperatures (75–100 °C), the leakage mechanism in Al-rich samples (50-100%) shifted from FN tunneling to PF emission at high electric fields (~ 3.3–6.87 MV/cm). The composition and energy band alignments of the films were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry, showing that introducing Al into HfO₂ increases the bandgap, reduces the dielectric constant, and significantly lowers oxygen vacancies. Thus, it is further demonstrated that HfO₂ films with the appropriate Al content can effectively enhance dielectric properties and adjust the material parameters of the dielectric layer.

A mild two-step method of black phosphorus (BP) flake thinning was demonstrated in this article. Slight ultraviolet–ozone (UVO) radiation followed by an argon plasma treatment was employed to oxidize mechanically exfoliated BP flakes and remove the surface remains of previous ozone treatment. The annealing process introduced aims to reduce impurities and defects. Low damage and efficient electronic devices were fabricated in terms of controlling the thickness of BP flakes through this method. These results lead to an important step toward the fabrication of high-performance devices based on two-dimensioned materials.