Plasma Etching Damage to Ferroelectric SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT) Thin Films and Capacitors

The effects of reactive ion etching damage on the electrical properties of Pt/SBT/Pt capacitors have been investigated. The plasma treated SBT/Pt layers showed a significant decrease in remanent polarization compared with that of the reference sample. The remanent polarization of the plasma treated layers varied with the gas ratios of the Cl 2 /Ar plasma. XPS analysis of the plasma treated SBT/Pt samples showed that the surface composition was significantly changed as the gas ratios were varied, which resulted in a polarization decrease in the plasma treated samples. Plasma treatment also caused a voltage shift of the hysteresis loops along the voltage axis. The magnitude of the voltage shift was increased for the chlorine-rich plasma. The results of surface analysis revealed that the voltage shift is caused by oxygen deficiency at the SBT surface. Based on our experimental results, reactive ion etching damage was explained in terms of physical and electrical effects of the plasma on the electrical properties of the ferroelectric Pt/SBT/Pt capacitors.