Patent ID: 7186572

Claim:
A method of fabricating a capacitor, the capacitor comprising a ferroelectric film in contact with a conductive, oxygen diffusion barrier electrode layer, the method comprising the steps of: forming a conductive, oxygen diffusion barrier electrode layer; depositing a ferroelectric layer atop the conductive, oxygen diffusion barrier electrode layer; and annealing the ferroelectric layer in an oxygen ambient, wherein a partial pressure of oxygen in the oxygen ambient pO 2 is controlled at a level sufficient to oxidize the ferroelectric layer but not at a level sufficient to oxidize the conductive, oxygen diffusion barrier electrode layer, wherein a pO 2 is greater than a pO 2 -Bulk, wherein pO 2 -Bulk is a partial pressure of oxygen in a bulk N 2 gas containing approximately 0.07 ppm O 2 .