Performance Improvement of $\hbox{Sm}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}$ MIM Capacitors by Using Plasma Treatment After Dielectric Formation

In this letter, we investigate the dependence of the performance of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with Sm
₂
O
₃
dielectric on plasma treatment (PT) performed before Sm
₂
O
₃
deposition, after Sm
₂
O
₃
deposition, or both before and after Sm
₂
O
₃
deposition. By performing PT in N
₂
ambient (PTN) after Sm
₂
O
₃
dielectric formation, the effective quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC) can be reduced from 498 to 234 ppm/V
²
and the effective linear VCC can be reduced from 742.3 to 172 ppm/V for MIM capacitor with Sm
₂
O
₃
dielectric having a capacitance density of ~ 7.5 fF/mum
²
. The leakage current density at +3.3 V can be reduced from 3.44 10
^-7
to 1.60 times 10
^-8
A/cm
²
by performing PTN in both before and after Sm
₂
O
₃
deposition. PTN after dielectric formation is an effective way to improve the performance of high-kappa dielectric MIM capacitors for RF and analog/mixed signal IC applications.