Preparation and properties of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) thin films for ultra large scale integrated circuits (ULSIs) application - A review

Tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) thin films have rapidly evolved into an importan t field of research/development for both basic and applied science with the promise of creating a new generation of advanced micro devices for electro nics applications. This paper provides a broad review of the current status and future trends of Ta2O5 thin films as a high ly promising storage diele ctric material for high-density dynamic random access memory applications. Various methods of thin film material processing are briefly reviewed. The physical, electrical and dielectric characteristics of Ta2O5 thin films wit h specific examples from recent literature and the associated conduction me chanisms are summarized and discussed. Some suggestions to improve the elec trical properties of the films are finally included. (C) 1998 Kluwer Academ ic Publishers.