Growth and characterization of zirconium oxide thin films on silicon substrate

The growth and characterization of zirconium oxide (ZrO 2) thin films prepared by thermal oxidation of a deposited Zr metal layer on SiO 2/Si were investigated. Uniform ZrO 2 thin film with smooth surface morphology was obtained. The thermal ZrO 2 films showed a polycrystalline structure. The dielectric constant of the ZrO 2 film has been shown to be 23, and the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of the ZrO 2 stacked oxide is in the range of 3.38–5.43 nm. MOS capacitors with ZrO 2 dielectric stack show extremely low leakage current density, less than 10 −6 A/cm 2 at −4 V. Consequently, using this method, high-quality ZrO 2 films could be fabricated at oxidation temperature as low as 600 °C.