Effects of rough interface on impedance of solid LiPON in MIM cells

The influences of the rough interface on the impedance of solid lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) in its metal/insulator/metal (MIM) cells over a wide frequency are studied. Using magnetron sputtering method, Al/LiPON/Al cells with different rough interfaces are fabricated. With increasing the Al films electrode roughness, the deposited LiPON films on these electrodes are correspondingly roughened, which result the interface in MIM cell roughened. Rough LiPON films make their ionic resistance decreasing and the real contact area and the bulk capacitance of MIM cells increasing. These lead to the ionic conductivity of LiPON films improved from 1.09 to 2.70 μS/cm. Meanwhile, the bulk capacitance and the electrolyte resistance in MIM cells could be separated by changing the interface roughness. Rough interfaces in MIM cells contribute to the differences in the morphology of LiPON thin films, which result in the decrease of the activation energy of ionic conductivity E g from 0.45 to 0.38 eV. Without changing LiPON components ratio and sputtering conditions for the thin films deposition, or using any heat treatment, we demonstrate an effective way to improve the ionic conductivity by increasing the roughness of the contact electrode in MIM cells, corresponding roughening the LiPON films and decreasing its ionic impedance.