Effect of rapid thermal annealing on the structural and electrical properties of TiO2 thin films prepared by plasma enhanced CVD

Titanium oxide thin films were deposited on p-type Si(100), SiO2/Si, and Pt/Si substrates by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using high purity Ti(O-i-C3H7)(4) and oxygen. As-deposited amorphous TiO2 thin films were treated by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in oxygen ambient, and the effects of RTA conditions on the structural and electrical properties of TiO2 films were studied in terms of crystallinity, microstructure, current leakage, and dielectric constant. The dominant crystalline structures after 600 and 800 degrees C annealing were an anatase phase for the TiO2 film on SiO2/Si and a rutile phase for the film on a Pt/Si substrate. The dielectric constant of the as-grown and annealed TiO2 thin films increased depending on the substrate in the order of Si, SiO2/Si, and Pt/Si. The SiO2 thin layer was effective in preventing the formation of titanium silicide at the interface and current leakage of the film. TEM photographs showed an additional growth of SiOx from oxygen supplied from both SiO2 and TiO2 films when the films were annealed at 1000 degrees C in an oxygen ambient. Intensity analysis of Raman peaks also indicated that optimizing the oxygen concentration and the annealing time is critical for growing a TiO2 film having high dielectric and low current leakage characteristics.