The local coordination environment of the silicates and oxides of Hf and Zr have been investigated using both experimental ELNES data and theoretical modelling of the near-edge structures.

The replacement Of SiO2 as the gate oxide in CMOS by materials with higher permittivity such as HfO2/HfSiO has encountered problems from physical and chemical changes that occur during processing of the gate stack. Spectrum imaging, used in conjunction with the analysis of electron energy loss near edge structure, is shown to be a powerful tool to investigate such changes.