Reduction of leakage currents with nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix in metal-insulator-metal capacitor stacks

CaTiO3 layers with varying thicknesses in metal-insulator-metal capacitor stacks were deposited at 550 degrees C using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The combination of electrical and transmission electron microscopy measurements allows a correlation of k-value and leakage current to the degree of crystallinity. Experiments show that higher crystallinity and, therefore, higher k-values lead to increasing leakage currents and change of conduction mechanisms. However, leakage currents are significantly reduced when crystallites are embedded in an amorphous matrix. Selective growth of these crystallites is owed to cube-on-cube nucleation of CaTiO3 on {011} Pt. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3664395]