Low-temperature crystallization of high-dielectric (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin films for embedded capacitors

(Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ (BST) thin film with a perovskite structure has potential for the practical application in various functional devices such as nonvolatile-memory components, capacitor, gate insulator of thin-film transistors, and electro-optic devices for display. Normally, the BST thin films derived from sol-gel and sputtering are amorphous or partially crystalline when processed below $600^{\circ}C$. For the purpose of integrating BST thin film directly into a Si-based read-out integrated circuit (ROIC), it is necessary to process the BST film below $400^{\circ}C$. The microstructural and electrical properties of low-temperature crystallized BST film were studied. The BST thin films have been fabricated at $350^{\circ}C$ by UV-assisted rapidly thermal annealing (RTA). The BST films are in a single perovskite phase and have well-defined electrical properties such as high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, low leakage current density, and high breakdown voltage. Photoexcitation of the organics contained in the sol-gel-derived films by high-intensity UV irradiation facilitates elimination of the organics and formation of the single-crystalline phase films at low temperatures. The amorphous BST thin film was transformed to a highly (h00)-oriented perovskite structure by high oxygen pressure processing (HOPP) at as low as $350^{\circ}C$. The dielectric properties of BST film were comparable to (or even better than) those of the conventionally processed BST films prepared by sputtering or post-annealing at temperature above $600^{\circ}C$. When external pressure was applied to the well-known contractive BST system during annealing, the nucleation energy barrier was reduced; correspondingly, the crystallization temperature decreased. The UV-assisted RTA and HOPP, as compatible with existing MOS technology, let the BST films be integrated into radio-frequency circuit and mixed-signal integrated circuit below the critical temperature of $400^{\circ}C$.