Reactive Ion Etching Damage to Ferroelectric Thin Films Capacitors

ABSTRACTReactive ion etching damage to sputtered Pt/PZT/Pt ferroelectric capacitors was studied using Ar and CHCIFCF3 etch gases. Electrical properties, hysteresis, fatigue, and leakage current of PZT capacitors, before and after etching, were compared to examine the etching damage. It is found that the damage effects depend on etching time and are mainly due to the physical bombardment effect. The PZT capacitors etched with CHCIFCF3 plasma showed less damage than those etched in Ar plasma. The electric properties of etched Pt/PZT/Pt capacitors are recovered by annealing at 400 °C for 30min.