Nature of the electric forming of a thin film metal-dielectric-metal system

The influence on forming is considered in the paper of voltage, microrelief of the base electrode (BE), and width and technology of obtaining of a dielectric layer of an MDM-system. The presence is estabished experimentally of a critical width of a dielectric, depending on the microrelief of the BE, an increase of which makes forming impossible — only a breakdown is observed. Relying on the experimental results obtained, an inference is made that the most essential factors determining forming are the presence of a specific microrelief of the BE or defects of the dielectric film (cells, microfissures, et al.) and a specific correlation of the width of the dielectric film with the dimensions of the indicated microdefects.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 65–67, January, 1991.