ALD ZrO2 processes for BEoL device applications

In this paper three different ZrO2 ALD processes are studied as high-k dielectric in BEoL device applications. One metal organic precursor is compared to a halide precursor used with two different oxidizing agents. The structure, composition and morphology of the films are analyzed on bare Si wafers and the electrical properties such as capacitance, leakage and reliability are investigated on fully integrated BEoL decoupling capacitors. One of the halide ALD processes is identified as the most promising candidate for BEoL capacitor applications.