Reduction of leakage current in chemical-vapor-deposited Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/ thin films by furnace N/sub 2/O annealing

In this brief, we present a post-deposition annealing technique that employs furnace annealing in N/sub 2/O (FN/sub 2/O) to reduce the leakage current of chemical-vapor-deposited tantalum penta-oxide (CVD Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/) thin films. Compared with furnace annealing in O/sub 2/ (FO) and rapid thermal annealing in N/sub 2/O (N/sub 2/O), FN/sub 2/O annealing proved to have the lowest leakage current and the most reliable time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB).