High-Resistivity Thin-Film Resistors Grown Using $\hbox {CrB}_{2}$ –Si–SiC Materials by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Thin-film resistors for the high resistivity and the low temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) applications were prepared using the CrB₂-Si-SiC (it was abbreviated as CrSS) target in an argon and oxygen mixture ambient on the SiO₂/Si substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The microstructural and electrical properties of the films were investigated for various deposition temperatures. The resistivity and the TCR values of the films were remarkably varied with increasing deposition temperature. Abrupt variations in the resistivity and the TCR values in the films grown above 550°C were attributed to the nanocrystalline Cr₂SiO₄ phases embedded in the amorphous phases. The 91-nm-thick samples grown at 565°C in an argon and oxygen mixture ambient exhibited a resistivity as high as 1.0 kΩ/sq and a TCR value as low as -6 ppm/°C. The resistivity and the near-zero TCR values of the thin films grown at various temperatures are a strong candidate for high-resistivity thin-film resistor applications.