AbstractsPhysics

Scaling of electronic circuits from micro- to nanometer size determined the incredible development in computer technology in the last decades. In charge storage capacitors that are the largest components in dynamic random access memories (DRAM), dielectrics with higher permittivity (high-k) were needed to replace SiO2. Therefore ZrO2 has been introduced in the capacitor stack to allow sufficient capacitance in decreasing structure sizes. To improve the capacitance density per cell area, approaches with three dimensional structures were developed in device fabrication. To further enable scaling for future generations, significant efforts to replace ZrO2 as high-k dielectric have been undertaken since the 1990s. In calculations, CaTiO3 has been identified as a potential replacement to allow a significant capacitance improvement. This material exhibits a significantly higher permittivity and a sufficient band gap. The scope of this thesis is therefore the preparation and detailed physical and electrical characterization of ultrathin CaTiO3 layers. The complete capacitor stacks including CaTiO3 have been prepared under ultrahigh vacuum to minimize the influence of adsorbents or contaminants at the interfaces. Various electrodes are evaluated regarding temperature stability and chemical reactance to achieve crystalline CaTiO3. An optimal electrode was found to be a stack consisting of Pt on TiN. Physical experiments confirm the excellent band gap of 4.0-4.2 eV for ultrathin CaTiO3 layers. Growth studies to achieve crystalline CaTiO3 indicate a reduction of crystallization temperature from 640°C on SiO2 to 550°C on Pt. This reduction has been investigated in detail in transmission electron microscopy measurements, revealing a local and partial epitaxial growth of (111) CaTiO3 on top of (111) Pt surfaces. This preferential growth is beneficial to the electrical performance with an increased relative permittivity of 55 with the advantage of a low leakage current comparable to that in amorphous CaTiO3 layers. A detailed electrical analysis of capacitors with amorphous and crystalline CaTiO3 reveals a relative permittivity of 30 for amorphous and an excellent value of 105 for fully crystalline CaTiO3. The permittivity exhibits a quadratic dependence with applied electric field. Crystalline CaTiO3 shows a 1-3% drop in capacitance density and permittivity at a bias voltage of 1V, which is significantly lower compared to all results for SrTiO3 capacitors measured elsewhere. A capacitance equivalent thickness (CET) below 1.0 nm with current densities 1×10−8 A/cm2 have been achieved on carbon electrodes. Finally, CETs of about 0.5 nm with leakage currents of 1 × 10−7 A/cm2 on top of Pt/TiN fulfill the 2016 DRAM requirements following the ITRS road map of 2012. Die Verkleinerung von elektronischen Bauelementen hin zu nanometerkleinen Strukturen beschreibt die unglaubliche Entwicklung der Computertechnologie in den letzten Jahrzehnten. In Ladungsspeicherkondensatoren, den größten Komponenten in Arbeitsspeichern, wurden dafür…