Pt-ion-implantation-induced suppression of leakage conduction in Pt/Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3/Pt capacitors

The effect of 1 MeV ion implantation on leakage conduction, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the Pt/Pb(ZrxTi1-x)(2)O-3/Pt capacitors is studied for a wide range of implantation doses (10(10)-10(16) cm(-2)). It is shown that the implantation of Pt+, with an implant and vacancy profile peaking at the bottom interface and a dose within the range of 10(13)-10(16) cm(-2), provokes a strong suppression of the leakage conduction and ferroelectric hysteresis. In addition, ion implantation results in a decrease of the static dielectric constant. Annealing of the specimens at 650 degrees C restores the initial conduction and dielectric properties. The phenomena observed can be interpreted in terms of formation of a non-switching dielectric layer at the interface of the ferroelectric film. For doses ranging from 10(13) to 10(14) cm(-2) the specimen shows the behavior of a linear capacitor with dielectric constant of 120-270 and low level of leakage currents (about 10(-9) A/cm(2) at de electric field of 150 kV/cm). The results obtained indicate that ion bombardment of the ferroelectric film surface can be of practical interest for creation of high dielectric constant hysteresis-free low-leakage capacitor materials.