DIELECTRICS IN MICROELECTRONICS - PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

This review is focussed on the most demanding application of dielectrics in microelectronics, namely that in field effect technology. It is shown that the requirements of this technology can only be met in silicon devices; the developments over the past 30 years indicate that there is no reliable replacement for Si-SiO2 in the gate system. However, for DRAM capacitors the use of alternative dielectrics with higher dielectric constant and of ferroelectrics turns out to be unavoidable but also manageable. The limitations of other semiconductor systems with regards to dielectrics are briefly reviewed.