TF026

Layer thicknesses which are achievable using powder-based fabrication techniques such as tape casting continue to improve, but are still significant portions of a micron. We have developed an alternative approach to the fabrication of multilayer capacitors that is based upon chemical solution deposition and which has enabled us to decrease dielectric layer thicknesses to as thin as 20 nm in a 10-layer structure. For layers thinner than ∼100 nm, phase development and interactions between the dielectric layers and Pt electrodes become increasingly problematic, but we have found that exploiting the reversibility of the perovskite-fluorite phase transition is helpful in achieving ultrathin films with excellent electrical properties. Quantitative SIMS and TEM investigations of Pt-Pb interactions have also offered further insight into the critical electrode-dielectric interface. Under optimized processing conditions, electrical properties such as capacitance, leakage current, and temperature characteristics of ultrathin multilayer capacitors vary directly with the number of layers, indicating consistency of film quality with increased layers. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL8500.