Abstract
We compared retention characteristics of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) capacitors with either noble metal electrodes or their oxide compounds. Very thin PZT films with thickness below 100 nm were deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on Ir bottom electrodes, and Pt, Ir, IrO2 were covered as top electrodes thereon. The capacitors with IrO2 top electrodes had the better opposite-state retention performance than those with Pt, Ir top electrodes. Inserting IrO2 top electrode affected the alleviation of the size effect more in the aged capacitors than in the virgin capacitors. In addition, we also discuss problems of using IrO2 as a bottom electrode in our PZT capacitors.