The objective of this project on point defect migration in perovskite thin films is to develop a better understanding of electric field--induced oxygen vacancy motion in high-permittivity dielectric layers. The technological motivation for this work is derived from concerns about the reliability of perovskite dielectrics for integrated on-chip capacitors. Field-driven oxygen vacancy migration is a key feature of the proposed mechanisms for time-dependent degradation of these films. However, unambiguous physical characterization of oxygen vacancy electro-migration has not been reported to date in the high permitivity thin film systems of technological interest. In this project, vacancy migration kinetics will be measured and the data used to test proposed mechanisms for fatigue, imprint, and resistance degradation of perovskite dielectrics. Combined with measurements of ferroelectric hysteresis and charge transport across the dielectrics, the kinetic data may allow the development of quantitative and predictive models for the degradation processes. %%% The proposed research project combines experiments and modeling to improve our understanding of behavior of a class of materials that have immense technological importance in integrated circuit applications. The project will provide the students with a special educational experience through collaborative work (including extended visits and jointly-planned experiments) involving industrial researchers at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories and IBM's T.J. Watson Research Lab. ***
