Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (PZT) thin film capacitors have been fabricated with four electrode combinations: Pt/PZT/Pt/SiO2Si, RuO2/PZT/Pt/SiO2/Si, RuO2/PZT/RuO2/SiO2/Si, and Pt/PZT/RuO2/SiO2/Si. It is shown that polarization fatigue is determined largely by the electrode type (Pt vs RuO2), and microstructure has only a second-order effect on fatigue. If either the top or bottom electrode is platinum, significant polarization fatigue occurs. Fatigue-free capacitors are obtained only when both electrodes are RuO2. In contrast, the bottom electrode is found to have a major effect on the leakage characteristics of the PZT capacitors, presumably via microstructural modifications. Capacitors with bottom RuO2 electrodes show high leakage currents (J = 10−3-10−5 A/cm2 at 1 V) irrespective of the top electrode material. Capacitors with Pt bottom electrodes have much lower leakage currents (J = 10−8 A/cm2 at 1 V) irrespective of the top electrode material. At low voltage, the I-V curves show ohmic behavior and negligible polarity dependence for all capacitor types. At higher voltages, the leakage current is probably Schottky emission controlled for the capacitors with Pt bottom electrodes.

Lead zirconate titanate, Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 or PZT, thin films grown on RuO2 electrodes by the sol-gel process have excellent resistance to polarization fatigue, but they generally have two drawbacks. The films have high leakage currents and large property variation. In this letter we show that the use of a thin Pt layer (100 Å) deposited on the bottom RuO2 electrode to fabricate RuO2/PZT/Pt/RuO2/(100)MgO capacitors has two important effects. It reduces capacitor leakage by two to four orders of magnitude and it significantly reduces the large property variation. In addition, these capacitors retain their excellent resistance to polarization fatigue which is characteristic of the RuO2/PZT/RuO2 heterostructure.

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