Pt nanocrystalline interfacial layer in an SBT/Pt/Ti ferroelectric capacitor

Ching Chich Leu*, Chao-Hsin Chien, Chiung Chih Hsu, Chia Feng Leu, Fan Yi Hsu, Chen Ti Hu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The microstructural feature of platinum (Pt) bottom electrode in a strontium-bismuth-tantalate (SBT)/Pt/titanium (Ti) stack was investigated by field-emission transmission electron microscopy. The appearance of a thin nanocrystalline Pt (nano-Pt) interfacial layer was unexpectedly observed in the SBT/Pt interface region after crystallization treatment. The energy-dispersive spectrometer analyses indicated a great amount of TiOx formed along the grain boundaries of this nanocrystalline layer. Such a phenomenon is strongly related to the grain-boundary diffusions of O and Ti atoms during the annealing process in oxygen ambient. It is speculated that the structural reconstruction of the Pt electrode was likely triggered by the compressive stress due to the large volume expansion during TiOx growth. Under such compressive stress and thermal conditions, Pt may be plastically deformed and inclined to recover and recrystallize into the nanocrystalline structure. Because the emergence of TiOx, in nano-Pt/columnar-Pt interfacial regions would significantly deteriorate the continuity and the ductility of Pt electrode, it possibly causes the peeling of SBT layer and poses a serious problem to the integration of the ferroelectric capacitors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)F67-F69
JournalElectrochemical and Solid-State Letters
Volume7
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2004

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