Performance and Reliability of ${\rm Gd}_{2}{\rm O}_{3}$ and Stacked ${\rm Gd}_{2}{\rm O}_{3}\hbox{-}{\rm Eu}_{2}{\rm O}_{3}$ Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitors

Abstract

Gd2O3-based metal-insulator-metal capacitors have been characterized with single layer (Gd2O3) and bilayer (Gd2O3/Eu2O3 and Eu2O3/Gd2O3) stacks for analog and DRAM applications. Although single layer Gd2O3 capacitors provide highest capacitance density (15 fF/μm2), they suffer from high leakage current density, poor capacitance density-voltage linearity, and reliability. The stacked dielectrics help to reduce leakage current density (1.2×10-5 A/cm2 and 2.7 × 10-5 A/cm2 for Gd2O3/Eu2O3 and Eu2O3/Gd2O3, respectively, at -1 V), improve quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance (331 ppm/V2 and 374 ppm/V2 for Gd2O3/Eu2O3 and Eu2O3/Gd2O3, respectively, at 1 MHz), and improve reliability, with a marginal reduction in capacitance density. This is attributed to lower trap heights as determined from Poole-Frenkel conduction mechanism, and lower defect density as determined from electrode polarization model.