Flexible metal–insulator–metal capacitor using plasma enhanced binary hafnium–zirconium–oxide as gate dielectric layer

Abstract

We have used a sol–gel spin-coating process to fabricate a new metal–insulator–metal capacitor comprising 10-nm thick binary hafnium–zirconium–oxide (Hf x Zr 1− x O 2) film on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate. The surface morphology of this Hf x Zr 1− x O 2 film was investigated using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, which confirmed that continuous and crack-free film growth had occurred on the PI. After oxygen plasma pre-treatment and subsequent annealing at 250 °C, the film on the PI substrate exhibited a low leakage current density of 3.22 × 10 −8 A/cm 2 at −10 V and maximum capacitance densities of 10.36 fF/μm 2 at 10 kHz and 9.42 fF/μm 2 at 1 MHz. The as-deposited sol–gel film was oxidized when employing oxygen plasma at a relatively low temperature (∼250 °C), thereby enhancing the electrical performance.