Growth Stress Induced Tunability of Dielectric Constant in Thin Films

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that growth stress can be used to tune the dielectric constant of zirconia thin films by influencing phase, texture, and interatomic distances, leading to films with record low equivalent oxide thickness.

Contribution

It reveals how growth stress affects dielectric properties through phase transitions and atomic spacing, providing a new method to optimize thin film dielectric performance.

Findings

Stress influences phase transitions in zirconia films.

Optimized stress conditions yield high dielectric constant.

Achieved record low equivalent oxide thickness of 0.8 nm.

Abstract

It is demonstrated here that growth stress has a substantial effect on the dielectric constant of zirconia thin films. The correct combination of parameters - phase, texture and stress - is shown to yield films with high dielectric constant and best reported equivalent oxide thickness of 0.8 nm. The stress effect on dielectric constant is twofold, firstly, by the effect on phase transitions and secondly by the effect on interatomic distances. We discuss and explain the physical mechanisms involved in the interplay between the stress, phase changes and the dielectric constant in detail.