IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Dielectrics Monday Sessions
       Session DI1-MoP

Paper DI1-MoP9
Deposition and Characterization of Thin ZrO@sub2@ Films

Monday, October 29, 2001, 5:30 pm, Room 134/135

Session: High K Dielectrics Poster Session
Presenter: L. Koltunski, University of New Mexico
Authors: L. Koltunski, University of New Mexico
R.A.B. Devine, University of New Mexico
R. Marquardt, University of New Mexico
Correspondent: Click to Email
Amorphous films of ZrO@sub2@ up to ~ 100 nm thick have been deposited on Si substrates at room temperature using O@sub2@ and Zr(C@sub4@H@sub9@O)@sub4@ source gases in an electron cyclotron resonance excited plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor working in the pressure range ~ 2 millitorr. The film composition was measured by X-ray emission and found to be stoichiometric (ZrO@sub2@) within experimental error. The refractive index at 632.8 nm was ~ 1.74 - 1.84 whilst the dielectric constant, measured on metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structures, was ~ 20. Glancing incidence X-ray scattering was used to ascertain the film density which was ~ 5 g cm@super-3@ as compared to a monoclinic, crystalline value ~ 5.83 g cm@super-3@. Infrared absorption spectroscopy of the amorphous films evidenced a strong transverse optic mode at 410 cm@super-1@ and an associated longitudinal optic mode at 693 cm@super-1@. From the transverse/longitudinal optic mode splitting we determine that the dielectric constant is > 11. Since the experimental value is ~ 20 other transverse/longitudinal modes must be present but not observed in the spectral range we have examined (350 - 1600 cm@super-1@). Evidence for crystalline phases (monoclinic and tetragonal) was found in the infrared spectra of samples deposited using radio frequency substrate bias. The presence of crystalline inclusions was confirmed by X-ray scattering analysis. The amorphous film dielectric constant is only ~ 9% smaller than the crystalline value (~22) whereas the refractive index is smaller by 16-21 %. The origin of these differences will be discussed.