A high-throughput search for electronic materials-thin-film dielectrics

Parallel synthesis together with high-throughput screening was used to identify candidate materials for integrated circuit applications that demand a superior high permittivity dielectric thin film. Specifically, we developed a 'continuous-composition spread' (CCS) technique to synthesize much of a pseudoternary oxide system in a single deposition and used this in conjunction with a high-throughput measurement protocol, thereby allowing each chemical system to be deposited and evaluated in about 24 h. This approach led to the identification of compositions in the Zr-Sn-Ti-O system with promising properties. The same technique was used to determine the optimum compositions as a function of processing parameters. Films with the composition Zr_.2Sn_.2Ti_.6O₂ were then prepared using a conventional synthetic technique (on-axis sputtering) and were verified to have excellent properties. Thus, the CCS technique has demonstrated utility in rapidly identifying and developing a useful new material.