Conventionally, sputtering deposition of thin films requires a low base pressure (high vacuum) to minimize influences of residual gases. Here, a high base pressure (low vacuum) was used, which can reduce significantly the overall processing time. Aluminum nitride ( AlN ) was selected as a model system of dielectric nitrides. All the analyses revealed that the obtained films under a low vacuum environment within specific processing windows exhibited characteristics similar to those of high‐vacuum made AlN films. Such a low vacuum deposition technique takes advantages of kinetically favorable formation of the nitride films and hence, has great potentials in many more technological applications.

We investigated the influence of the halogen-light exposure on the metallorganic decomposition of strontium bismuth tantalate ͓SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 ͑SBT͔͒ thin films deposited by chemical-solution deposition ͑CSD͒ on platinum ͑Pt͒ capacitors. The UV absorption spectrum obtained using Fourier transform infrared showed that the removal of the residual organic species from the SBT solution layer was enhanced by the halogen light during drying at 150°C. The halogen-light exposure improved ferroelectric properties and the formation of a ͑200͒-preferred film structure, a superior ferroelectric property. In addition, the decomposition of oxidated bismuth ͑Bi-O bonds͒ in SBT as a result of the halogen-light exposure was also observed. Some reduction in metallic Bi from the oxidated state that occurred during the high temperature rapid thermal annealing was enhanced by the halogen-light exposure. The high Bi:Bi 2 O 3 ratio in the SBT film samples exposed to the halogen light was responsible for their high leakage current. At 400°C, the annealing in a N 2 O ambient was effective in oxidizing Bi and in reducing the leakage current densities by about 2 orders of magnitude. Although the specific interaction between the halogen light and the CSD film remains unclear, the cost-effective and safe halogen lamp may be an appropriate choice for photoassisted thermal processes for the production of ferroelectrics.Strontium bismuth tantalate ͓SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 ͑SBT͔͒ is a promising material for thin-film application in the production of the nonvolatile random access memory because of its excellent ferroelectric properties: low leakage current, low operating voltage, and fatigue endurance of up to 10 12 switching cycles. 1 However, SBT has a high crystallization temperature ͑Ͼ750°C͒ that is incompatible with the conventional large-scale integration processes and a relatively low remnant polarization, making SBT unsuitable for certain applications. Researchers have developed several chemical and physical deposition methods for the production of the SBT-based thin films. Among them, the chemical-solution deposition ͑CSD͒ is popular because of its advantages over the other methods: low cost, controllability of composition, and ease of preparation of complex mixed oxides used in thin films. 2 Pyrolysis is an essential step in the CSD process in which the excess solvent is evaporated, thereby removing the residual organic species present in the precursor solution. Although it is difficult to completely eliminate the organics via pyrolysis, the UV-light-assisted pyrolysis has been shown to successfully lower the crystallization temperature of ferroelectric films and to stabilize the film-substrate interface during annealing. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The UV irradiation enhances the pyrolysis by causing an early oxidation and a cracking of carbon-hydrogen ͑C-H͒ bonds. However, only a few investigations regarding the effects of the UV light on the properties of the SBT film have been conducted. 5,13 In the present stu...