Thin film high dielectric constant metal oxides prepared by reactive sputtering

High dielectric constant, low loss dielectric thin film materials produced by reactive RF sputtering have been investigated for use as capacitor dielectrics in integrated circuits, using oxides of niobium, tantalum, titanium, hafnium, and zirconium and mixtures of these with aluminum oxide. High breakdown fields and low leakage currents are found for the best materials and a reduction in capacitor area of a factor of >3 compared with Si3N4 capacitors of the same value, using a simple production process compatible with semiconductor device manufacturing.