Deposition of BaTiO3 thin films by plasma MOCVD

Abstract Barium titanium trioxide (BaTiO 3 ) thin films were deposited on fused silica or silicon wafer substrate from barium dipivaloylmethanate (II) (Ba(dpm) 2 ) and titanium tetraisopropoxide (IV) (TTIP) used as precursors in an oxygen microwave plasma. The substrates were dielectrically heated and the substrate temperatures were around 900 K during the film deposition. The deposition was performed for 15 min and the deposits were identified as BaTiO 3 by means of X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. Oxygen and barium atoms and TiO and CO molecules were identified in the plasma. These species would produce higher deposition rates at lower substrate temperatures than those did in the usual thermal metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The dielectric constant of the BaTiO 3 thin film that was directly deposited on the silicon wafer substrate was as low as 10 1 order of magnitude. Because the deposit reacted with the substrate and an interdiffusional layer was formed, the platinum layer was coated on the silicon wafer substrate in order to prevent the formation of an interdiffusional layer. The dielectric constant then increased to 10 3 order of magnitude.