Abstract. The impact of annealing on the dielectric performance of TiO₂ thin films synthesized by PECVD was investigated. Films annealed between 500 and 700 °C have an anatase crystal structure, while 800 °C annealed films display the rutile phase. The optimal annealing temperature was 600 °C, which both maximized the dielectric constant and minimized the leakage current density. The intrinsic dielectric constant of TiO₂ improved from 82 ± 10 in as-deposited films to 168 ± 30 after annealing. The leakage current of optimized films was superior to the SiO₂ control samples over a range of equivalent oxide thickness. Fowler–Nordheim tunnelling and Frenkel–Poole conduction were observed in the optimized films, while Schottky emission dominated leakage current at other conditions.

Print publication: Issue 12 (December 2006)
Received 13 June 2006, in final form 28 August 2006
Published 29 September 2006