Dielectric nanocomposites for integral thin film capacitors: materials design, fabrication and integration issues

Nanocomposites of organically modified barium titanate (BTO) nanoparticles in an epoxy matrix have been synthesized and evaluated as dielectrics for the fabrication of integral thin film capacitor arrays. Organic modification of the polymer inorganic interface has been used as a design tool to control the cross link density of the polymeric matrix and the interfacial interactions. Impedance spectra generated with model networks has been employed to analyze the experimental data and to model the role of the ceramic core, interface and the polymer matrix in determining the dielectric behavior of the nanocomposites. Stealth decoupling capacitor arrays were fabricated employing BTO-Epoxy nanocomposite thin films as dielectric layer. Capacitor arrays were fabricated by patterning the top electrode in the glass\Al\BTO-epoxy \Al heterostructures employing a photolithographic process and their electrical performance characterized. The role of an organically modified interface in limiting the thermal diffusion of copper metal in the composite thin film has been investigated employing Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy.