ULTRA-THIN TIO2 DIELECTRIC FILM FOR HIGH CAPACITANCE CAPACITORS

The proposed research activity attempts to develop an ultra-thin capacitor using TiO(2) as dielectric film for high-temperature microelectronics in commercial or military applications. There has been an increasing demand for a high dielectric constant insulator for replacement of SiO. TiO(2) film is promising because it has a high dielectric constant with a sufficiently high breakdown voltage. In spite of continuous efforts for diamond and SiC film capacitor applications, it has been difficult to provide sufficient reliability toward LSI fabrication due to recrystallization of dielectric film which results in reduction of dielectric breakdown strength. Defect density of dielectric film significantly increases as thickness of the film is reduced to several hundred angstroms. Application of the ulta-thin capacitor to a switch-load resistor memory cell makes it possible to reduce the memory cell area to one-third that of a conventional memory cell. Techniques, such as thermal oxidation of titanium sputtering, and CVD, will be used to deposit TiO(2) thin film. The quality of the film, electrical properties such as breakdown voltage, dissipation factor, and equivalent series resistance will be evaluated. The prototypical ultra-thin TiO(2) capacitor will be demonstrated and life-tested.