Modeling interdigital electrode structures for the dielectric characterization of electroceramic thin films

A combination of physical and numerical modeling has been used to investigate the use of co-planar interdigital electrode (IDE) structures to characterize the dielectric properties of isotropic electroceramic thin films. A periodic two-dimensional IDE structure was simulated by finite-difference numerical modeling to investigate different electrode geometries and film thicknesses. A semi-empirical equation that enables the dielectric properties of the thin film to be calculated from the measured capacitance has been developed and is shown to be consistent with conformal mapping approaches. This equation is shown to agree better with various calculations over a wider range of parameters than the existing equation of Farnell (IEEE Trans. Son. Ultrson., SU-17(3) (1970) 188). Physical simulations of IDE structures with a limited number of electrode fingers have enabled the approach to be generalized to any IDE structure including the important special case of a two-electrode strip-line.     

The effect of different electrode structures on the dielectric properties of lanthanum-doped lead titanate ferroelectric thin films

Lanthanum-doped lead titanate [(Pb_0.9,La_0.1)TiO₃, PLT10] ferroelectric thin films were grown on Si(100) and Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The crystalline properties of PLT10 films were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Photolithographic technique was applied to fabricate the interdigital electrodes on PLT10 thin films on Si(100) substrates. The dielectric properties of PLT10 thin films with different electrodes were measured. At room temperature and 1 kHz testing frequency, the dielectric constant of the PLT10 thin film with interdigital electrodes is 386. The dielectric constant of the PLT10 thin film fabricated under the same technological conditions with parallel plate electrodes structure is 365, while the dielectric constant and loss of the PLT10 thin film with interdigital electrodes are decreased faster than those of the film with parallel plate electrodes with increasing frequency. This is because more influences of interface state are introduced due to the interdigital electrode configuration. Translated from Journal of Functional Materials, 2006, 10(37): 1,554–1,556, 1560 (in Chinese)     

不同电极形式对掺镧钛酸铅铁电薄膜的介电性能的影响

采用射频磁控溅射技术在Si(100) 基底和Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100)基底上生长了掺镧钛酸铅[(Pb0.9,La0.1)TiO3, PLT10]铁电薄膜.用X射线衍射技术(XRD)研究了PLT10薄膜结晶性能.使用光刻工艺在Si(100) 基底的PLT10薄膜上制备了叉指电极,测试了PLT10薄膜的介电性能.在室温下,测试频率为1kHz时,PLT10薄膜的介电常数为386.而采用相同工艺条件制备的具有平行电极结构的PLT10薄膜, 其介电常数为365.但利用叉指电极测试的PLT10薄膜的介电常数和介电损耗随频率的下降比利用平行电极测试的PLT10薄膜的快些.这是因为叉指电极结构引入了更多的界面态影响的缘故.     

Thin film fabrication of nano-porous 12CaO·7Al2O3 crystal and its conversion into transparent conductive films by light illumination

Thin film fabrication of crystalline 12CaO·7Al₂O₃ (C12A7) with zeolitic structure was examined, and their electrical and optical properties were measured. Polycrystalline thin films were prepared by post-annealing of amorphous films in oxygen atmosphere at temperatures above 800 °C. Choice of substrates was crucial for obtaining single-phase thin films. Although various oxide substrates (single crystals of Al₂O₃, Y-stabilized ZrO₂, MgO and silica glass) were examined, single-phase films were obtained only for MgO substrates and the other substrates reacted with the CaO component in the films during post-annealing. The optical band gap of C12A7 was evaluated to be 5.9 eV. Hydride ions were incorporated into the film by a thermal treatment in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1200 °C. The resulting transparent thin films were converted into transparent persistent electronic conductors exhibiting an electrical conductivity 6.2×10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹ at 300 K by ultraviolet light illumination. This is the first example of transparent conductive thin film in which conductive areas can be patterned directly by light.     

A study on the electrical properties of Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin films crystallized by the electrical resistive heating of Pt thin film

The electrical properties of Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ thin films annealed by Pt thin film heater were investigated. By the thin film heater, we successfully crystallized Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ thin films at a high temperature above 750 °C in a few seconds. The thin film heater has some advantages, such as a low thermal budget, little Pb-loss and enhanced surface morphology compared with the conventional furnace because it has a fast heating rate. The electrical properties of the Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ thin film crystallized by thin film heater improved considerably comparing to those crystallized in conventional furnace. The remanent polarization, breakdown field, and leakage current density measured to be 22.7 μC/cm², 853 kV/cm, and 6.93 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm², respectively.     

Method for measuring thickness of dielectric films using microdielectric fringe-effect sensors

A method for noninvasive thickness measurements of dielectric films using fringe-effect (FE) sensors is developed and experimentally validated. The fringing electrical field, created by electrodes microfabricated at the film substrate, depends on the film thickness and dielectric permittivity of the film under test (FUT). The unknown film thickness is estimated by matching the theoretical prediction of thickness-dependent sensor admittance with the measured value. In the case of FE sensors with spatially periodic, interdigitated electrode (IDE) configuration, the admittance prediction is simplified, which allows for the real-time measurements of changing thickness. The developed method can be used to continuously measure the changing dielectric permittivity of the FUT material, which makes it possible to determine the thickness of films of changing dielectric properties, caused by chemical or other transformations. The application of the developed method is demonstrated experimentally by measuring the thickness of silicon nitride film deposited in several increments on the quartz substrate of the IDE sensor. In the expected range of sensor sensitivity, the results show an excellent agreement with the independent thickness measurements.     

Structural and electrical characteristics of chemical solution derived (Bi3.2La0.4Nd0.4)Ti3O12 thin films

(Bi_3.2La_0.4Nd_0.4)Ti₃O₁₂ (BLNT) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by using chemical solution deposition technique, and the effects of annealing temperatures in the range of 550-750 °C on structure and electrical properties of the thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the thin films have a bismuth-layered perovskite structure with preferred (117) orientation. The surface morphology observation by field-emission scanning electron microscopy confirms that films are dense and smooth with uniformly distributed grains. The grain size of the thin films increases with increasing annealing temperature; meanwhile, the structural distortion of the thin films also increases. It was demonstrated that the thin films show good electrical properties. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are 191 and 0.028, respectively, at 10 kHz for the thin film annealed at 600 °C, and the 2Pr value of the thin film annealed at 700 °C is 20.5 μC/cm² at an electric field of 500 kV/cm.     

Growth of pseudocubic perovskite-type SrRuO3 thin films on quartz substrate using pulsed laser deposition method

Strontium ruthenium oxide (SrRuO₃) thin films have been grown using pulsed laser deposition technique on silicon, Pt coated silicon and quartz substrates. The effect of substrate temperatures on the structural, microstructure, and electrical properties of the SrRuO₃ films on quartz substrate has been investigated using XRD, SEM, AFM and four-probe method, respectively. The lowest resistivity at room temperature for the SrRuO₃ thin film on quartz substrate has been achieved at substrate temperature of 700 °C. Furthermore, the comparisons of SrRuO₃ thin films deposited on various substrates have been done with respect to structural, microstructural and electrical properties. XRD patterns exhibit that all thin films are a single phase, pseudo-cubic perovskite structure. Study of surface morphology shows that grain size and roughness varies with respect to substrate. It is observed that SrRuO₃ thin films yield larger grain size and root mean square roughness on Pt/Si substrate. Investigation of electrical properties shows that SrRuO₃ thin films can serve the purpose of the bottom electrode in dielectric and ferroelectric devices.     

Effect of annealing atmosphere on phase formation and electrical characteristics of bismuth ferrite thin films

Bismuth ferrite thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a soft chemical method and spin-coating technique. The effect of annealing atmosphere (air, N₂ and O₂) on the structure and electrical properties of the films are reported. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the film annealed in air atmosphere is a single-phase perovskite structure. The films annealed in air showed better crystallinity and the presence of a single BFO phase leading to lower leakage current density and superior ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature. In this way, we reveal that BFO film crystallized in air atmosphere by the soft chemical method can be useful for practical applications, including nonvolatile digital memories, spintronics and data-storage media.     

Substrate effect on in-plane dielectric and microwave properties of Ba(Sn0.15Ti0.85)O3 thin films

The microstructure and in-plane dielectric and microwave properties of Barium tin titanate Ba(Sn_0.15Ti_0.85)O₃ (BTS) thin films grown on (1 0 0) LaAlO₃ and (1 0 0) MgO single-crystal substrates through sol–gel process were investigated. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize crystal structure of phases and microstructure of the thin films, respectively. Microwave properties of the films were measured from 1 to 10 GHz by the interdigital capacitor configuration. The obvious differences in the dielectric and microwave properties are attributed to the stress in the films, which result from the lattice mismatch and difference in the thermal expansion coefficients between the film and substrates. This work clearly reveals the highly promising potential of BTS films for application in tunable microwave devices.     

Integration of stacked capacitor module with ultra-thin ferroelectric SrBi2Ta2O9 film for high density ferroelectric random access memory applications at low voltage operation

The crystallization route of thin SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) films deposited on Pt(100 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/SiO₂/Si substrate is investigated at different annealing temperatures by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). To evaluate the SBT film properties for low voltage operation and for high storage density (>16 MBit), SBT is deposited at different film thicknesses. Furthermore, the performance of a Pt/SBT/Pt capacitor on a barrier-/contact-layer/polysilicon-plug architecture suitable for stacked capacitor memories is investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and electrical measurements. It is shown that an oxidized and highly resistive contact layer can be recovered by electrical pulses. Finally, a process solution for a successful integration of 38 nm thin SBT films into this structure is provided.     

Effect of heat-treatment on LaNiO3 film electrode of PZT thin films derived by a sol–gel method

Lanthanum nickel oxide (LaNiO₃ or LNO) conducting thin films that could be used as electrodes for improving fatigue and aging properties of ferroelectric thin films were investigated. In this paper, LNO films were directly spin-coated onto SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates followed by thermal treatment in air and in oxygen. It was found that crack-free dense and uniform films with good crystallinity and medium grains were obtained, preferentially (1 0 0)-oriented LNO thin films could be formed at a lower annealing temperature of 550 °C and that with the increase in thermal annealing temperature the LNO thin film possessed better electrical properties especially at 750 °C. However, the LNO film displayed a structure transformation above 850 °C. A phenomenon was found that the first heat-treatment temperature and time played a key role to determine the crystallite size of LNO films. A subsequent deposition of a sol–gel derived Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (PZT53/47) thin film on the LNO-coated SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates was also found to have a (1 0 0)-oriented texture. Moreover, the Au/PZT/LNO capacitor was found to significantly improve the fatigue and the effects of the LNO electrodes to the fatigue were discussed.     

Effect of heat-treatment on LaNiO3 film electrode of PZT thin films derived by a sol–gel method

Lanthanum nickel oxide (LaNiO₃ or LNO) conducting thin films that could be used as electrodes for improving fatigue and aging properties of ferroelectric thin films were investigated. In this paper, LNO films were directly spin-coated onto SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates followed by thermal treatment in air and in oxygen. It was found that crack-free dense and uniform films with good crystallinity and medium grains were obtained, preferentially (1 0 0)-oriented LNO thin films could be formed at a lower annealing temperature of 550 °C and that with the increase in thermal annealing temperature the LNO thin film possessed better electrical properties especially at 750 °C. However, the LNO film displayed a structure transformation above 850 °C. A phenomenon was found that the first heat-treatment temperature and time played a key role to determine the crystallite size of LNO films. A subsequent deposition of a sol–gel derived Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (PZT53/47) thin film on the LNO-coated SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates was also found to have a (1 0 0)-oriented texture. Moreover, the Au/PZT/LNO capacitor was found to significantly improve the fatigue and the effects of the LNO electrodes to the fatigue were discussed.     

Progress of (Sr,Ba) TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ferroelectric thin film and tunability

The fabrication method, technology route and structure performances of (Sr, Ba) TiO₃ (SBT) ferroelectric thin film have been summarized in this paper. The tunability of dielectric constant, dielectric loss and leakage current are the basic parameters of tunable microwave devices. The thin films of SBT with high properties could be fabricated by means of RF magnetron sputtering and sol- gel processing. The electrical performances of thin film material can be improved largely by dopants. Some problems are put forward to pay attention to this material research process.     

Some properties of thin aluminium nitride films formed in a glow discharge

The formation of thin AlN films and some of their electrical properties have been investigated. The films were prepared by exposing the surface of evaporated aluminium films to a glow discharge in pure nitrogen gas. It has been confirmed by transmission electron diffraction that the structure of the film is of the wurtzite type, as is that of the bulk material. It was observed that the thickness of the AlN films depends on the voltage of the glow discharge, the distance from the discharge electrode to the films and the treatment time. The electrical properties were measured in the form of a sandwich diode, i.e. Al-AlN-Au. The voltage-controlled negative resistance, which was first discovered in Al-Al₂O₃-metal diodes, has also been observed in this nitride film diode and shows very good reproducibility and stability.     

Optical,electrical and mechanical properties of Ga-doped ZnO thin films under different sputtering powers

We present the optical, electrical and mechanical properties of Ga-doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films prepared by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at room temperature under different RF powers (80–180 W). The thickness, electron concentration, and electron mobility of the GZO thin film were determined by fitting the visible-to-near-infrared transmittance spectrum of GZO film/glass using the transfer matrix method. The bending force per unit width was measured by a home-made Twyman–Green interferometer with the fast Fourier transform method. The obtained results show that the optical, electrical and mechanical properties of GZO thin film are subject to the RF power. At an RF power of 140 W, the local minimum of bending force per unit width corresponds to the highest electron mobility in GZO thin film. This study demonstrates that the optical, electrical and mechanical properties of GZO thin film can be fully resolved by non-contact optical methods.     

The effects of oxygen partial pressure on BST thin films deposited on multilayered bottom electrodes

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ (BST) thin films have been deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering on silicon and platinum-coated silicon substrates with different buffer and barrier layers. BST films deposited on Si/SiO₂/SiN/Pt and Si/SiO₂/Ti/TiN/Pt multilayer bottom electrode have been used for the fabrication of capacitors. XRD and SEM studies were carried out for the films. It was found that the crystallinity of the BST thin film was dependent upon oxygen partial pressure in the sputtering gas. The role of multilayered bottom electrode on the electrical properties of Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ films has been also investigated. The dielectric properties of BST films were measured. The results show that the films exhibit pure perovskite phase and their grain sizes are about 80–90 nm. The dielectric properties of the BST thin film on Si/SiO₂/Ti/TiN/Pt electrode was superior to that of the film grown on Si/SiO₂/SiN/Pt electrode.     

Pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films on silicon substrates

We report on the epitaxial growth and electrical properties of Pb_0.52Zr_0.48TiO₃ (PZT) thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on SrTiO₃ (STO)-buffered Si(001). Previously to PZT growth, 40 nm-thick (La,Sr)MnO₃ (LSMO) layer was deposited to serve as electrical bottom electrode. The 200 nm-thick PZT film epitaxy was optimized by PLD on STO-buffered Si(001).The high contrast of stable artificially poled ferroelectric surfaces evidences the good ferroelectric properties of the PZT thin film. The structural as well as the physical properties of the PZT/LSMO/STO/Si(001) structure prove that very good quality layers have been obtained for films grown on silicon substrate.     

The electrical properties of polycrystalline ZnIn2Te4 thin films

Thin films of ZnIn₂Te₄ are grown onto glass substrates by the flash evaporation technique. Electrical properties such as electrical resistivity and activation energy were studied with different substrate temperatures ranging from 300 to 623 K. It is observed that the film grown at a substrate temperature of 523 K is a single phase polycrystalline stoichiometric film with minimum electrical resistivity. The effect of the film thickness on the electrical properties of ZnIn₂Te₄ thin films grown at a substrate temperature of 523 K has been studied. The experimental data can be satisfactorily explained on the basis of the Fuchs-Sondheimer theory.     

Shallow defect density determination in CuIn3Se5 thin film photoabsorber by impedance spectroscopy

A number of CuIn₃Se₅ photoabsorber films were prepared using pulsed laser deposition technique. Impedance spectroscopy (IS) was used to determine the density of shallow defects in CuIn₃Se₅ thin film samples. Various contact layers were deposited onto the CuIn₃Se₅ layers to prepare structures with stable diode-like I-V behavior. It was found that Zn-phthalocyanine is an appropriate material to prepare the barrier layer onto CuIn₃Se₅ layer for the IS measurements and calculations. For analyzing impedance data a more complex equivalent circuit was used consisting of two blocks of parallel capacitance and resistance in series. Using these data it was shown that it is possible to predict more accurately the distribution of the potential in the structure.Density of free carrier generated by shallow defects was calculated by using two different approaches: the abrupt depletion layer edge approximation and the integral capacitance technique developed some years ago by A.F. Yaremchuk.The concentration of free charge carriers was found to be in the range of 1 × 10¹⁵-1 × 10¹⁶ cm^− 3. IS calculation results are in good agreement with data in literature and the calculated thickness of CuIn₃Se₅ layers agrees with data obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).