Thin films of high-kk dysprosium scandate prepared by metal organic chemical vapor deposition for metal–insulator–metal capacitor applications

DyScO3 thin films were grown on Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The root mean square roughness was ∼1.4 nm for the films having thickness ≤20 nm, and the roughness increased with thickness due to the crystalline grain growth. The dielectric constant and the loss tangent of the films were ∼21±1.5 and ≤0.004, respectively, at room temperature. The break down field was about 2.3 MV/cm at room temperature. The leakage current densities were in the range of 10−4 to 10−7A/cm2 at an electric field of about 1 MV/cm. The voltage variation of capacitance was lower for thicker films compared to thinner ones and was ∼2% for the 8 nm film. The temperature and the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant and the loss tangent were small around room temperature (300±50 K). Hence, this material may be of interest in integrated circuit and power electronics applications.