Inter-digital capacitors with aerosol-deposited high-K dielectric layer for highest capacitance value in capacitive super-sensing applications

Abstract Inter-digital capacitors (IDCs) with aerosol-deposition (AD) high-k dielectric layer were compared via simulation and measurements of bare IDCs and AD IDCs at room temperature and subjected to a post-annealing process for realizing capacitive super-sensing applications. IDCs with thin AD films can provide higher capacitive intensity and improvements for other dielectric performances. Therefore, IDC patterns with AD high-k dielectric layers were fabricated by varying the finger widths and gap. Moreover, we analyzed the layer microstructure design patterns using simulations and experiments with AD BaTiO 3 as-deposited IDCs and IDCs subjected to annealing at 500 °C. These three different IDCs were measured using an impedance analyzer; furthermore, the AD BaTiO 3 films were evaluated using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and traveling electron microscopy. The results for the IDCs with the AD BaTiO 3 film show the highest capacitance when compared with other thin layer capacitors, which is expected to be useful in realizing super-sensing applications in the future.