High charge storage in amorphous BaTiO3 thin films

A high charge storage density was achieved in BaTiO3 thin films on Si substrates prepared by a reactive partially ionized beam deposition technique and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatment. The films, being deposited at a low substrate temperature, were amorphous. The films were then annealed by using RTA in N2 ambient at 500 °C for 1 min. After the annealing the relative dielectric constant of the films was 20 and the thickness of the films was 310 A. The charge storage density of the films was calculated to be as high as 5.6 μC/cm2 at 10 V. The leakage current density was on the order of 10−7 A/cm2 at an applied electric field of l MV/cm. The potential application of this film in high density memory is discussed.