Patent ID: 8338249

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: forming a lower electrode on a semiconductor substrate, sputtering a ferroelectric film on the lower electrode using a target, thermal treating the ferroelectric film in an atmosphere containing oxygen in accordance with an accumulated period of use of the target for fabricating the ferroelectric film, and forming an upper electrode on the ferroelectric film, wherein the ferroelectric film is thermal treated in an atmosphere having a first amount of oxygen when using an amount of target material corresponding to a first sputtering rate of the ferroelectric film, and the ferroelectric film is thermal treated in an atmosphere having a second amount of oxygen when using an amount of target material corresponding to a second sputtering rate of the ferroelectric film, the second amount of oxygen being larger than the first amount of oxygen and the second sputtering rate being larger than the first sputtering rate.