Good High-Temperature Stability of TiN/ Al2O3/WN/TiN Capacitors

For the first time, good thermal stability up to an annealing temperature of 1000degC has been demonstrated for a new TiN/Al₂O₃/WN/TiN capacitor structure. Good electrical performance has been achieved for the proposed layer structure, including a high dielectric constant of ~ 10, low leakage current of 1.2times10^-7 A/cm² at 1 V, and excellent reliability. A thin WN layer was incorporated into the metal-insulator-metal capacitor between the bottom TiN electrode and the Al₂O₃ dielectric suppressing of interfacial-layer formation at Al₂ O₃/TiN interfaces and resulting in a smoother Al₂O₃/TiN interface. This new layer structure is very attractive for deep-trench capacitor applications in DRAM technologies beyond 50 nm.