Characterization of quality of BaxSr1−xTiO3 thin film by the commutation quality factor measured at microwaves

Abstract

The loss factor (tan δ) of ferroelectric material at microwaves and the tunability (n) defined as a ratio of the dielectric permittivity at zero dc field to the dielectric permittivity at the given field are strongly connected with the softness of so-called ferroelectric soft mode. The loss factor and the tunability are generalized by the commutation quality factor (CQF). The dielectric response of a ferroelectric material allows one to determine the CQF and to compare it to the theoretical CQF obtained for a perfect ferroelectric sample. In order to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental data, the influence of deposition parameters on microwave properties of BaxSr1−xTiO3 (BSTO) films deposited on sapphire and alumina substrate has been investigated in a wide frequency range (1–30 GHz). The highest CQF at room temperature was obtained for the 30% Ba content target and the deposition temperature 905 °C. The best BSTO films exhibited CQF≅1.6×104 with n=2.1 and tan δ=0.012 at 1 GHz and zero bias. This result is among the best reported for sputtered BSTO films both on sapphire and alumina substrates. Nevertheless the obtained CQF is 3–5 times lower than the upper theoretical limit.