Toomey, B. and Cherkaoui, K. and Monaghan, S. and Djara, V. and O'Connor, E. and O'Connell, D. and Oberbeck, L. and Tois, E. and Blomberg, T. and Newcomb, S.B. and Hurley, P.K.

2012

June

Microelectronic Engineering

The structural and electrical characterization of a HfErOx dielectric for MIM capacitor DRAM applications

Published

Scopus: 7 ()

ALD Capacitor Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) HfD-04 High-k Metal-insulator-metal (MIM)

94

7

10

Hafnium erbium oxide (HfErO x) thin films were formed using atomic layer deposition. The effect of using different Hf:Er pulse ratios on the electrical and structural properties of the HfErO x thin films (∼9 nm) in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structures have been investigated and comparisons made between as-deposited and annealed samples. We report the stabilisation of the higher dielectric constant (k) tetragonal/cubic phase by optimising the Hf:Er pulse ratio. The dielectric properties post thermal anneal at 500°C were studied. A leakage current in the order of ∼1 × 10 -8 (A/cm 2) at a voltage of 1 V and a capacitance equivalent thickness of ∼1.4 nm have been achieved post thermal annealing at 500°C. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

10.1016/j.mee.2012.01.001