EFFECT OF ANNEALING ON THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF SrTiO3 THIN FILMS PRODUCED BY ION BEAM SPUTTERING.

Thin film capacitors with SrTiO3 (STO) as dielectric and Pt as electrode material have been prepared by ion beam sputtering. The as-deposited film is amorphous and exhibits a crystallization temperature around 321°C as proved by X-ray diffraction. The effect of post annealing on the crystalline quality of the films was systematically studied by x-ray diffraction and Atomic Force microscopy (AFM). The temperature and frequency dependent dielectric properties were measured from 30°C to 200°C and 0.01 Hz to 105 Hz, respectively. The influence of the microstructure of SrTiO3 thin films on their electrical properties was investigated through an extensive characterization. The electrical properties of SrTiO3 films appear to be strongly depending on the annealing temperatures. The capacitance voltage (C-V) characteristics reveal an improvement of capacitance density with increasing the annealing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]