Barium diffusion properties in silicon at 800 °C were studied using total X-ray fluorescence (TXRF), vapor-phase decomposition TXRF, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Most of the Ba concentration dissolves in the native or thermally grown oxide. At 800 °C during 60 min, Ba diffuses 60 nm into silicon. The effects of Ba diffusion on the minority carrier recombination lifetime were also studied. No drastic decrease in lifetime was observed in silicon wafers of n- and p-type up to concentrations of 10¹⁴ atoms/cm², which means that Ba does not act as a deep-level recombination center. The leakage current of Ba-contaminated diodes was also evaluated. No increase in leakage current was observed in Ba-contaminated diodes up to concentration of 10¹⁴ atoms/cm². Therefore, and under the tested conditions, no drastic risk on lifetime and leakage current is seen for the integration of Ba containing dielectrics in future Gbit-scale dynamic random access memories.