Self-Healing Breakdown Measurements of Pyrolytic Aluminum Oxide Films on Silicon

Self-healing breakdown techniques are employed to study dielectric breakdown in pyrolytic aluminum oxide films on silicon substrates. The Al2O3 is prepared by chemical vapor deposition at low temperature (300–600°C) using Al isopropoxide as source material. Both weak-spot breakdown and intrinsic breakdown in the absence of weak spots using Au–Al2O3–Si test capacitors are investigated. Intrinsic breakdown field strengths of 7.5×106 V/cm for Si+ on p-type substrates and 6.9×106 V/cm for Si − on n-type are observed and found to be independent of Al2O3 thickness and temperature. Weak-spot breakdown is found to be associated with contamination of the silicon surface.