Future direction for a diffusion barrier in future high-density volatile and nonvolatile memory devices

This article reviews the current status of high-density capacitor for volatile memory devices. The dielectric properties for both the Ta₂O₅ film and the (Ba,Sr)TiO₃ (BST) dielectric materials using either the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or the atomic layer deposition (ALD) are reviewed briefly. New challenges of dielectric material for the next generation, and serious problems emerged during integration to date using Ta₂O₅ and BST. The material characteristics of many electrode materials for the high dielectric materials are introduced. We present the basic properties and integration issues for MOCVD-ruthenium (Ru). The second part of this review summarizes the failure mechanisms from barrier properties of previously reported diffusion barriers and emphasizes new design concepts of diffusion barrier for high-density memory devices. Finally, the future direction for a diffusion barrier to advance high-density memory capacitors is suggested.