ABSTRACT
To think of a gate dielectric as defect-free is science fiction. Such illusions may be understandable, in view of the remarkable quality achieved for silicon dioxide. Even though defects are certainly present in the oxide on silicon, its natural advantages are many. The oxide passivates; it has a wide bandgap and large band offsets; it offers good stoichiometry with neutral intrinsic defects (the neutrality of these native defects being both rare and important); it enables convenience in processing. Moreover, decades of applications have made it possible to avoid many likely problems. For silica, and only for silica at present, there is enormous knowledge of defects and their consequences, with indications of how to minimize the impact of these defects (see, for example, recent reviews in [1–4]).
