Leakage current suppression in spatially controlled Si-doped ZrO2 for capacitors using atomic layer deposition

Conduction Mechanism in Acceptor- or Donor-Doped ZrO2 Bulk and Thin Films

“…The effect of grain boundaries serving as the main source of leakage current should be additionally considered. − In this context, doping has been explored to suppress leakage. Various doping elements, such as trivalent (Y 3+ , La 3+ , and Al 3+ ) and pentavalent (Ta 5+ ) cations, induce stabilized tetragonal and cubic phases with low leakage current, respectively. − However, considering charge compensation, the incorporation of trivalent atoms into the Zr 4+ lattice creates oxygen vacancies or hole carriers. − At the same time, pentavalent atoms induce interstitial oxygens or electrons in the Zr 4+ lattice . Defects and excess charge carriers generated by doping serve as the leakage current sources, , and the leakage current increases with the vertical scaling down of high-k for compensating for the capacitance.…”

Room temperature growth of ultra porous hot-wire deposited tantalum pentoxide

“…Many researchers have investigated suitable high-k dielectric materials in order to replace the well-known silicon dioxide, as its leakage current is too large at thickness down to 1.4 nm [3]. A few authors have recently reported that materials such as hafnium dioxide (HfO2) [4][5][6] and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) [7][8][9], with high dielectric constants of 20 and 23, respectively, are advantageous in capacitive applications and especially in leakage current dependent applications, such as portable (batteryoperated) devices. However, research on one particular type of dielectric remains relatively rare.…”

Crystallinity-Controlled Atomic Layer Deposition of Ti-Doped ZrO2 Thin Films

“…4 The dielectric constant and band gap energy of a dielectric material are inversely proportional, and a small-band gap material has poor leakage current characteristics because of a low band offset with a metal electrode. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to study materials with appropriate dielectric constants and energy band gaps. ZrO 2 has a high dielectric constant (k ∼ 47) and wide band gap (5.5 eV), making it an appropriate solution for applications with dielectric thickness of tens of nanometers.…”