Dielectric properties of tantalum oxide thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

The article presents the results of studies of the dielectric characteristics of tantalum oxide films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of a Ta target in an Ar/O$_2$ gas mixture. Dependencies of dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, band gap, leakage current density on oxygen content in Ar/O$_2$ gas mixture during film deposition were established. Films with a dielectric constant of $12$–$30$ units, a dielectric loss tangent of $0.01$, a leakage current density of less than $0.1$ A/cm$^2$ at an electric field strength of $2.0\cdot 10^6$ V/cm, and band gap of $4.5$–$4.85$ eV, were obtained.