Electrical and optical properties of tantalum oxide thin films prepared by RF reactive sputtering

Abstract

The author describes an investigation of the electrical and optical properties of sputtered tantalum oxide films with a view toward its possible use as a dielectric waveguide material. The tantalum oxide films used in the experiment were obtained by sputtering a tantalum target (99.94%) in an environment rich in oxygen (Ar/O/sub 2/ = 84.5/15.5). The sputtered tantalum oxide films show high dielectric constant and low tan /spl delta/. However, their electrical resistivity and dielectric breakdown are lower than those of tantalum films anodized in an electrolyte. High refractive-index films were obtained.<>