Fabrication of Ta–Si–N/Ag nanocomposite thin films with near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance

Tuning the electronic properties in TaNx/Ag nanocomposite thin films

“…In fact, the composite microstructure is crucial to obtain the near-zero TCR in TaN x /metal thin lms. 1,16 The separable metal nanoparticles, which have positive TCR and very low resistivity, could neutralize the negative TCR and reduce high resistivity of TaN x (x > 1). But, once mix metal nanoparticles contact each other, the resistivity of the deposited thin lms will decrease sharply and the TCR will appear the metallic features.…”

“…Near-zero TCR is indeed a balance between these two effects. 1 Fig. 7(a) shows the resistivity of TaN x and TaN x /Ag thin lms for comparison.…”

“…With the rapid development of high-precision electrical circuits for use in harsh conditions, research on thin-lm resistors with a near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) is gradually increasing. [1][2][3] In recent years, tantalum nitride (TaN x , 0 # x # 1.67 (ref. [4][5][6]) as an excellent candidate to fabricate highperformance lm resistors with a near-zero TCR has attracted more and more attention.…”