230 IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 22, NO.

5, MAY 2001

Analog Characteristics of MetalInsulatorMetal

Capacitors Using PECVD Nitride Dielectrics
Jeffrey A. Babcock, Senior Member, IEEE, Scott G. Balster, Member, IEEE, Angelo Pinto, Member, IEEE,
Christoph Dirnecker, Philipp Steinmann, Reiner Jumpertz, Member, IEEE, and Badih El-Kareh, Senior Member, IEEE

AbstractThe frequency dependence of PECVD nitride and

LPCVD oxide metalinsulatormetal (MIM) capacitors is inves-
tigated with special attention for precision analog applications.
At measurement frequencies of 1.0 MHz, nitride MIM capacitors
show capacitance linearity close to that of oxide MIM capacitors,
indicating potential for precision analog circuit applications.
Due to dispersion effects, however, nitride MIM capacitors show
significant degradation in capacitor linearity as the frequency is
reduced, which leads to accuracy limitations for precision analog
circuits. Oxide MIM capacitors are essentially independent of
frequency.
Index TermsDispersion, frequency dependence of capaci-
tance, LPCVD oxide dielectrics, metal-insulator-metal (MIM)
capacitors, PECVD nitride dielectric, polycide/metal capacitor,
precision analog, temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC), Fig. 1. Normalized capacitance showing the frequency dependence of nitride
voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC). dielectric versus oxide dielectric MIM capacitors. Capacitance has been
normalized to the value measured at 1.0 MHz with 0.0 V dc bias applied across
the capacitor.
I. INTRODUCTION
capacitors are sensitive to bias condition plays a key role in

I NTEGRATION of precision metal-insulator-metal (MIM)

capacitors into high performance technologies has been a
key building block for mixed-signal IC applications, such as
low offset voltage operational amplifiers, analog frequency
tuning circuits, switched capacitor circuits, filters, resonators,
digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D) converters.
Recently PECVD nitride capacitors have emerged as attractive
candidates for advanced integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing
[1][5] due to their high dielectric constant, good matching [2],
low deposition temperature (400 C), and ease of integration.
Although much attention has been given to developing these
and other capacitors with higher capacitance per unit area
[6], there has been less attention regarding precision analog
performance of these devices. In analog circuits, the level of
performance obtainable is ultimately limited by the accuracy
of the passive components contained within the technology [7],
[8]. For these circuits, performance is dictated by the matching
properties between individual capacitor elements and by the
stability of these elements to maintain precise values inde-
pendent of operating condition [9][12]. Shifts in capacitance
with different operating frequencies, known as dispersion, can
lead to distortion in analog signals or can be up-converted to
higher frequencies in mixers and nonlinear circuit applications.
Similar issues exist for changes in capacitance with bias voltage
[9]. Developing an understanding of the degree to which MIM
designing high-performance analog circuits.
In this letter, we demonstrate that PECVD nitride dielectric
MIM capacitors show significant sensitivity to operation fre-
quency, bias voltage, and temperature. We also show for the first
time, that the voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC) in the
nitride dielectric capacitors has a strong frequency dependence.
These results are contrasted to oxide dielectric MIM capacitors
that show no frequency dependence and minimal VCC effects
with bias.
II. EXPERIMENT
The MIM capacitors explored in this study are fabricated with
a silicided (TiSi ) phosphorus doped polysilicon layer as the
bottom plate over field oxide. A 30-nm PECVD nitride is de-
posited as the dielectric and the top plate is formed with a TiN
metal layer. Similar capacitors with a 50-nm LPCVD oxide, but
otherwise same vertical and horizontal geometry, are used for
comparison.
Capacitance measurements are made on wafers using preci-
sion capacitor test structures, a HP 4284A Precision LCR Meter,
ICCAP to drive the equipment and bias sweeps, and a low-
leakage Cascade wafer probe station with temperature control
capability ranging from C to 200 C. Accuracy of the
system is better than 20 fF.

Manuscript received November 29, 2000; revised February 6, 2001. The re-
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
view of this letter was arranged by Editor K. De Meyer. Fig. 1 shows the normalized capacitance characteristics as a
The authors are with the Mixed-Signal-Products Process Development
Group, Texas Instruments Deutschland, Freising D-85356, Germany. function of frequency for nitride and oxide dielectric MIM ca-
Publisher Item Identifier S 0741-3106(01)03700-4. pacitors. It can be seen that the nitride capacitor exhibits signif-
07413106/01$10.00 2001 IEEE
BABCOCK et al.: ANALOG CHARACTERISTICS OF MIM CAPACITORS
Fig. 2. Normalized capacitance showing the dc bias voltage dependence of
oxide dielectric MIM capacitors, showing quadratic behavior in the voltage
coefficient of capacitance (VCC). Note: capacitance has been normalized to the
maximum capacitance value measured at each frequency.
TABLE I
COMPARISON OF QUADRATIC TERM AND
LINEAR TERM DESCRIBING THE BIAS DEPENDENCE OF MIM CAPACITOR
USING OXIDE DIELECTRIC VERSUS NITRIDE DIELECTRIC
Fig. 3. Normalized capacitance showing the dc bias voltage dependence of
nitride dielectric MIM capacitors, showing frequency dependent asymmetric
quadratic behavior in the voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC). Note:
capacitance has been normalized to the minimum capacitance value measured
at each frequency.
icant frequency dependence while dispersion is not observed on
the oxide capacitor.
Two additional parameters of importance to precision analog
design are the sensitivity of capacitors to temperature and bias
voltage. The voltage dependence of capacitance, VCC, is shown
in Figs. 2 and 3. For many analog circuit applications, VCC can
be approximated by [13]
(1)
231
Fig. 4. Normalized capacitance showing the frequency and operating
temperature dependence of nitride and oxide dielectric MIM capacitors,
showing linear behavior in the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC).
Note: all capacitance measurements have been normalized to the center point
capacitance value measured at 1.0 MHz at 25 C.
where is the capacitance at zero volts and are the
quadratic and linear coefficients of the capacitor respectively,
as determined by using a second order polynomial curve fit to
measured data. For an oxide capacitor, and are essentially
frequency independent (Fig. 2, Table I). In contrast, the nitride
capacitor shows a strong frequency dependence of the voltage
coefficients, and (Fig. 3, Table I). This can be seen by com-
paring the voltage coefficients at, e.g., 1.0 MHz and 200 Hz.
Fig. 4 shows the normalized capacitance versus temperature
at different frequencies. From these data, the nitride capacitor
indicates a temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of 127
PPM/ C at 1.0 MHz and a TCC of 187 PPM/ C at 1.0 kHz,
while the oxide capacitor shows a frequency independent TCC
of approximately 38 PPM/ C.
The frequency dependent shifts that are observed in the
PECVD nitride capacitors are consistent with bulk-nitride-traps
located within a tunneling distance of the nitride/metal interface
such that they are capable of modulating the total capacitance
with different time constants. The effect is similar to that
observed in MOS capacitors which model a bulk capacitance
term in parallel with an interface capacitance term [14].
Additional evidence for trap-induced dispersion effects in the
nitride capacitors was gained by measuring hysteresis effects in
these capacitors which showed a 0.95 V shift in the quadratic
minimum capacitance value, depending on voltage sweep
direction. Hysteresis effects have been shown to be correlated
with charge trapping in metal-nitride-semiconductor capacitors
[15]. In contrast, oxide capacitors showed no hysteresis effects.
IV. CONCLUSION
Significant dispersion is observed in PECVD nitride MIM ca-
pacitors, affecting the nominal capacitance, the voltage coeffi-
cient of capacitance, and the temperature coefficient of capac-
itance. The dispersion can be related to plasma-enhanced trap
generation in the bulk of the nitride. In contrast, LPCVD oxide
capacitors are essentially frequency independent and exhibit the
highest degree of accuracy for all measurement conditions. The
dispersion observed in nitride MIM capacitors can have signifi-
cant implications for precision analog circuit applications [16].
232
It has become therefore imperative to use LPCVD oxide di-
electrics for precision analog circuits and to apply PECVD ni-
tride capacitors where capacitance per unit area is more impor-
tant, or when the thermal budget becomes prohibitive.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the Manufacturing and Development
Teams, Texas Instruments, Freising, Germany, for their sup-
port.
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