Annealing temperature influence on sol-gel processed zirconium oxide thin films for electronic applications

Abstract

A study of zirconium oxide (ZrO 2) thin films obtained by the non-alkoxide sol-gel method at different annealing temperatures, up to 450°C, is presented. Morphological, compositional, and optical characterizations of zirconia thin films show high transparency and high bandgap, besides homogeneous and non-porous surface. Metalinsulating-metal (MIM) devices were assembled from this zirconia material for electrical characterizations and have shown high electric resistivity and high specific capacitance. A study of the thin film composition shows residues of S and Cl elements from the precursor solution that contributes for reduction of the dielectric constant of the zirconia thin films, even though they still present higher values when compared to SiO 2 , which is a positive alternative to replace this oxide in electronic devices. A parallel study of MIM assembled on polymeric substrate and annealed at 100°C also leads to positive results concerning high electrical insulating and capacitance. This study aims the understanding of the relations between annealing temperature and impurities found in sol-gel based thin films, as well as their relations to dielectric characteristics of zirconia thin films that impact the final properties of electronic devices, such as in field effect transistors.

Research Progress of High Dielectric Constant Zirconia-Based Materials for Gate Dielectric Application

“…It has also been reported that the sol-gel method was used to prepare ultrathin ZrO 2 films for MOSFET [42,43]. For the preparation of thin films by the solution method, attention should be paid to the molar ratio of the precursor solution and the condition of the post-annealing treatment [44], which are crucial to the properties of the films. Generally speaking, the properties of the films prepared by the solution method are slightly worse than those of other traditional methods such as ALD.…”

Study of electronic and optical response of Zn-CeO2 using first principle and experimental investigations

“…But these vacuum-based techniques are costly, energyintensive, require expensive starting material, and also time-consuming. This led to limited production and low throughput [11,12]. Compared with these vacuum-based deposition techniques, solution processing like the sol-gel method has become a popular method because of its low cost, easy controllability of chemical stoichiometry, low processing temperature, large-scale production, and its ability to produce chemically homogeneous and uniform films over large areas [13].…”

High Refractive Index Silica-Titania Films Fabricated via the Sol–Gel Method and Dip-Coating Technique—Physical and Chemical Characterization

“…Thin film technologies have played a key role in the development of microelectronics, and now they play the same role in optoelectronics. Attractive materials for the application in optoelectronics include transition metal oxides films (TMOs) (TiO 2 , ZnO, HfO 2 , ZrO 2 , Ta 2 O 5 ) which, due to high optical energy band gaps, show good transmission properties in the Vis–NIR spectral range [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. The TiO 2 and ZnO films have sensor [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ] and photocatalytic properties [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…TMOs are also used in integrated optics technologies [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. TMO films can be produced using physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods, including e-beam evaporation [ 2 , 4 ], magnetron sputtering [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 13 , 23 , 29 ], pulse laser deposition PLD [ 30 ], or chemical methods, including chemical spray pyrolysis [ 12 ], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [ 5 , 10 , 14 , 17 ] and the sol–gel method [ 6 , 18 , 20 , 22 , 26 , 28 ]. PVD methods require utilization of specialized technological instruments including vacuum systems.…”