ABSTRACT
Thin-film ferroelectric capacitors have been integrated with resistors and active functions such as ESD protection into small, miniaturized modules, which enable a board space saving of up to 80%. With the optimum materials and processes, integrated capacitors with capacitance densities of up to 100 nF/mm2 for stacked capacitors combined with breakdown voltages of 90 V have been achieved. The integration of these high-density capacitors with extremely high breakdown voltage is a major accomplishment in the world of passive components and has not yet been reported for any other passive integration technology. Furthermore, thin-film tunable capacitors based on barium strontium titanate with high tuning range and high quality factor at 1 GHz have been demonstrated. Finally, piezoelectric thin films for piezoelectric switches with high switching speed have been realized.
ABSTRACT
This paper shows for the first time integrated thin film ferroelectric metal-insulator-metal capacitors on silicon with a record high capacitance density above 100 nF/mm(2) combined with a breakdown voltage of 90 V and a lifetime exceeding 10 years at 85 degrees C and 5 V. The high capacitance density was obtained by a combination of material optimizations resulting in a dielectric constant of 1600, and stacking of capacitors. The reliability of these ferroelectric capacitors was studied in detail with accelerated lifetime testing. The high performance of the integrated capacitors in this paper shows great potential for applications demanding high capacitance densities combined with electrostatic discharge protection.