RAPID THERMAL PROCESSED THIN-FILMS OF NIOBIUM PENTOXIDE (NB2O5) DEPOSITED BY REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

Niobium pentoxide thin films have been deposited on silicon and platin um-coated silicon substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. The as- deposited films were amorphous and showed good electrical properties i n terms of a dielectric permittivity of about 30, and leakage current density of 10(-6) A cm(-2) al a field of 120 kV cm(-1). A rapid therma l annealing process at 800 degrees C further increased the dielectric constant to 90 and increased the leakage current density to 5 x 10(-6) A cm(-2). The current-voltage characteristics observed at low and hig h fields suggested a combination of phenomena at different regimes of applied electric field. The capacitance-voltage characteristics perfor med in the metal-insulator-semiconductor configuration indicated good electronic interfaces with a nominal trap density of 4.5 x 10(12) cm(- 2) eV(-1), which is consistent with the behavior observed with convent ional dielectrics such as SiO2 on silicon surfaces.