Preparation and properties of sol-gel derived PZT thin films for decoupling capacitor applications

The use of ceramic thin films as decoupling capacitors offers the possibility of capacitor integration within the integrated circuit (IC) package, and potentially, directly onto the IC itself. Since these configurations minimize series inductance, higher operational speeds are possible. In the present study we have investigated the dielectric and leakage characteristics of sol-gel PZT films. For compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary, dielectric constants of 1000, and loss tangents of about 0.02, were observed. The current - voltage behavior of the capacitors was characterized by a non-linear response, and significant asymmetry in both the leakage and breakdown characteristics as a function of bias sign was observed. Breakdown fields for PZT 53/47 thin films were typically {approximately}800 kV/cm at 25{degree}C. We have also studied the effects of La and Nb dopant additions and alternate firing strategies on film leakage characteristics. Donor doping at 2 - 5 mol % lowered leakage currents by a factor of 10{sup 3}. For films prepared by a multilayering approach, firing each layer to crystallization resulted in leakage currents that were a factor of 10{sup 2} lower than films prepared by the standard process.