The implementation of ferroelectric thin films in advanced semiconductor devices is near; facile integration at ULSI geometries requires chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process technology. The low volatility and thermal stability of many of the existing source reagents has driven the development of liquid source CVD, in which composition is set by volumetric metering of liquids followed by flash vaporization. The methodology as well as early results for Ba1- x Sr x TiO3, Pb1- x (La x Zr1- y Ti y )1- x /4O3 and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films, which are among the best reported for any deposition method, will be reviewed. These results establish liquid source CVD as a leading candidate to become the predominant deposition technology enabling the integration of ferroelectric thin films in ULSI devices.

We have analyzed the leakage behavior of polycrystalline MOCVD (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films as a function of both temperature and field. Of the possible mechanisms, thermionic (Schottky) emission gives a self-consistent description of the temperature and field dependencies of the true leakage current for fields in the range of 240–970 kV/cm, and yields realistic barrier heights of 1.2 eV for Pt as the cathode material. For film thicknesses of interest for use in DRAMs, the capacitance-voltage characteristics are explained via Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory. Preliminary resistance degradation studies are also discussed.

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A unique approach to MOCVD of complex oxides enables deposition of a number of materials of technological importance through the use of liquid delivery of metalorganic precursors. Methodologies for control of composition and exploration of. process space are compared for two film systems, one in a relatively mature state of development ((Ba,Sr)Ti03), the other in an early state of development (Ni-ferrite). In both cases, composition was controlled by mixing metalorganic precursors dissolved in solvents using a liquid delivery system. Films with excellent crystalline quality were deposited in both cases. Polycrystalline BST films displayed properties suitable for DRAM applications: charge storage densities > 80 fF/μm2 and leakage current density < 10−8 A/cm2 for films as thin as 15 nm. Growth mechanisms and rates were determined for the single component oxides of the ferrite films. Epitaxial NiFe204 films were deposited on MgO single crystal substrates at 650°C; x-ray rocking curves yielded FWHM values of 0.046°, commensurate with the substrate.

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