Preparation of High-Performance Transparent Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] Dielectric Films via Self-Exothermic Reaction Based on Solution Method and Applications

• Published in: Micromachines (Basel) Vol. 15; no. 9
• Main Authors: Fang, Xuecong, Ning, Honglong, Zhang, Zihan, Yao, Rihui, Huang, Yucheng, Yang, Yonglin, Cheng, Weixin, Jin, Shaojie, Luo, Dongxiang, Peng, Junbiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Dielectric films; Dielectrics; Electric properties; Methods; Thin films; Netherlands; China
• ISSN: 2072-666X; 2072-666X
• DOI: 10.3390/mi15091140

As the competition intensifies in enhancing the integration and performance of integrated circuits, in accordance with the famous Moore’s Law, higher performance and smaller size requirements are imposed on the dielectric layers in electronic devices. Compared to vacuum methods, the production cost of preparing dielectric layers via solution methods is lower, and the preparation cycle is shorter. This paper utilizes a low-temperature self-exothermic reaction based on the solution method to prepare high-performance Al[sub.2]O[sub.3] dielectric thin films that are compatible with flexible substrates. In this paper, we first established two non-self-exothermic systems: one with pure aluminum nitrate and one with pure aluminum acetylacetonate. Additionally, we set up one self-exothermic system where aluminum nitrate and aluminum acetylacetonate were mixed in a 1:1 ratio. Tests revealed that the leakage current density and dielectric constant of the self-exothermic system devices were significantly optimized compared to the two non-self-exothermic system devices, indicating that the self-exothermic reaction can effectively improve the quality of the dielectric film. This paper further established two self-exothermic systems with aluminum nitrate and aluminum acetylacetonate mixed in 2:1 and 1:2 ratios, respectively, for comparison. The results indicate that as the proportion of aluminum nitrate increases, the overall dielectric performance of the devices improves. The best overall performance occurs when aluminum nitrate and aluminum acetylacetonate are mixed in a ratio of 2:1: The film surface is smooth without cracks; the surface roughness is 0.747 ± 0.045 nm; the visible light transmittance reaches up to 98%; on the basis of this film, MIM devices were fabricated, with tested leakage current density as low as 1.08 × 10[sup.−8] A/cm[sup.2] @1 MV and a relative dielectric constant as high as 8.61 ± 0.06, demonstrating excellent electrical performance.