Characterization and elimination of dry etching damaged layer in Pt/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O-3/Pt ferroelectric capacitor

The damage of Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O-3 thin film due to dry etching process was characterized in terms of the microstructure and electrical properties. The damaged layer seems to be amorphous and the thickness of the damaged layer is about 10 nm. The existence of such a layer in Pt/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O-3/Pt ferroelectric capacitor tends to increase the coercive voltage and the leakage current. The damaged layer was not fully reverted to perovskite phase by the thermal annealing. With the wet cleaning treatment, however, the damaged layer was successfully removed thereby revealing significantly improved electrical properties. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)00529-X].