ZrO2 film prepared by atomic layer deposition using less viscous cocktail CpZr[N(CH3)2]3/C7H8 precursor and ozone

Abstract The precursor consists of a mixture of CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 (Cp = C 5 H 5 , Me = CH 3 ) and cycloheptatriene (C 7 H 8 ), CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 /C 7 H 8 , is introduced as a precursor in the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ). The cocktail CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 /C 7 H 8 chemical exhibits a higher vapor pressure of 1.2 torr and a lower viscosity of 7.0 cP at 100 °C than the pure CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 . In the ALD of ZrO 2 films, CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 /C 7 H 8 and O 3 act as the metal precursor and oxidant, respectively. Self-limited growth of ZrO 2 films occurs after a 2 s pulse of CpZr(NMe 2 ) 3 /C 7 H 8 , and a growth rate of 0.8–0.9 A/cycle is obtained over a wide temperature range of 250–400 °C. ZrO 2 film formed at 300 °C is stoichiometric with a lower impurity level of carbon and shows a tetragonal polycrystalline phase dominantly. The fabricated TiN/ZrO 2 /TiN capacitors exhibit compatible capacitance and leakage current properties with a quadratic voltage coefficient, inversely proportional to the dielectric film thickness (t) according to α∼t −1.8 .