Conduction Mechanism in Acceptor- or Donor-Doped ZrO2 Bulk and Thin Films

The leakage current in capacitors in future electronicsshouldbe highly suppressed to achieve low power consumption, high reliability,and fast data processing. Although considerable efforts have beendirected at reducing the leakage current, fundamental studies on theeffects of doping on bulk and thin-film materials have rarely beenconducted. Herein, we investigated the effects of doping with acceptorand donor elements on the conduction of bulk and thin-film ZrO2 and elucidated the underlying charge conduction mechanism.In the case of bulk ZrO2, the electrical conductivity wasreliably modulated by the type of dopant element, which is highlyconsistent with defect chemistry theory. However, unlike in the bulkmaterial, in acceptor- and donor-doped thin-film ZrO2,the leakage current was suppressed, indicating that the factors determiningthe electrical property in thin films are different from those inbulk materials.