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Ferroelectricity in calcium doped hafnium oxide (Ca:HfO2) thin films has been experimentally proved for the first time in this work. All films prepared by chemical solution deposition exhibited smooth and crack-free surfaces, which were observed using an atomic force microscope. After 104 field cycling, a maximum remanent polarization of 10.5 μC/cm2 was achieved in HfO2 films with 4.8 mol. % Ca content. Meanwhile, the breakdown of the film occurred after 7 × 106 electric cycles. A phase transition from the monoclinic phase to cubic/orthorhombic phases was observed with increasing Ca concentration. We suggest the change in oxygen vacancy concentration as the origin of phase evolution, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. These results open a new pathway for realizing ferroelectricity in HfO2-based films.

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Crack-free AlN films with threading dislocation density (TDD) below 109 cm−2 are needed for deep-UV optoelectronics. This is typically achieved using pulsed lateral overgrowth or very thick buffer layers (>10 μm), a costly and time-consuming approach. A method for conventional metalorganic chemical vapor deposition growth of AlN/SiC films below 3 μm with greatly improved quality is presented. Focusing on substrate pretreatment before growth, we reduce average film stress from 0.9 GPa (tension) to −1.1 GPa (compression) and eliminate cracking. Next, with optimized growth conditions during initial deposition, AlN films with x-ray rocking curve widths of 123 arc-sec (0002) and 304 arc-sec (202¯1) are developed, and TDD is confirmed via plan view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to be 2 × 108 cm−2. Film stress measurements including x-ray 2θ-ω, reciprocal space mapping, and curvature depict compressively stressed growth of AlN on 4H-SiC due to lattice mismatch. The thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between AlN and SiC is measured to be Δα=αAlN−αSiC=1.13×10−6 °C−1 and is found to be constant between room temperature and 1400 °C. TEM confirms the existence of dense misfit dislocation (MD) networks consistent with MD formation near SiC step edges and low MD density regions attributed to nearly coherent AlN growth on SiC terraces. These low-TDD, crack-free AlN/SiC buffers provide a platform for deep-UV optoelectronics and ultrawide bandgap electronics.