Dielectric Characteristics of Sol-Gel-Derived BST/BSLaT/BST Multilayer

BST/BSLaT/BST multiplayer (ML) films were prepared by sol-gel method on the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate. X-ray diffraction analysis and atomic force microscopy showed that dopant La causes decreased grain size of BST thin films obviously, and ML films were similar to BST films in size. The dielectric constant versus temperature curve of ML films becomes sharper comparing with that of BST films near the phase transition point, which indicated that the pyroelectric coefficient is propitious to be enhanced. The ML films also improve the leakage current characteristics of BST thin films and the linear relationship of the log J versus E^1/2 curves shows in a good agreement with the Schottky thermionic emission model. This work clearly reveals the highly promising potential of BST/BSLaT/BST multiplayer films compared with BST films for application in uncooled infrared focal plane arrays system.     

Influence of YSZ buffer layer on the electric properties of compositionally graded (Ba,Sr)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin film

Compositionally graded Ba_1−x Sr _x TiO₃ (BST) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si and YSZ/Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a modified sol–gel technique. The YSZ buffer layer was prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. The microstructure of the graded BST films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that all the films have uniform and crack-free surface with a perovskite structure. The graded BST film with an YSZ buffer layer has larger dielectric constant and lower dielectric loss. The leakage current density of the graded BST film with an YSZ buffer layer lowers two orders than the film without buffer layer. The improved electric properties of the graded films with an YSZ buffer layer was attributed to the YSZ buffer layer act as an excellent seeding layer to enhance the graded BST film growth.     

Facile preparation of vanadium oxide thin films on sapphire(0001) by sol–gel method

The Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BST60) thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by a sol–gel method. The thickness of CeO₂, serving as a buffer layer, was varied from 0 to 75 nm, in order to optimize the dielectric tunable property. X-ray patterns analysis indicates that all the thin films exhibit good crystalline quality with a pure perovskite phase and insertion of the CeO₂ buffer layer does not change the crystal structure of BST60. Dielectric properties of the thin films were investigated as a function of both temperature and direct current electric field. The results show that dielectric constant and loss are modified by insertion of the CeO₂ buffer layer. The BST60 thin films with 25 nm thickness CeO₂ buffer layer have the highest figure of merit, low dielectric loss, and suitable dielectric constant, which render them attractive for the tunable microwave device applications.     

The synthesis and properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films

The CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) thin films were synthesized via a metal‐organic solution containing stoichiometric amounts of the metal cations at 700 °C for 1 h. The stable metal‐organic solution was prepared by dissolving calcium nitrate, copper nitrate, and tetrabuty titanate in grain alcohol. The phases, microstructures, and electric properties of CCTO thin films were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, and electric measurements. The results show that the CCTO thin films have homogeneous microstructure, smooth surface, low leakage current, and high values of dielectric constant. The low leakage current can be attributed to the small surface roughness. The high value of dielectric constant can be attributed to the internal barrier layer capacitor mechanism and metal‐insulator‐semiconductor junction of CCTO thin films. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

稀土掺杂Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3薄膜的介电及发光性能

以钛酸锶钡和稀土氧化物粉末靶为靶材, 用离子束溅射法在MgO(100)和Si(100)基片上组合制备了不同掺杂浓度的Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3:Re(BST:Re)薄膜样品阵列. 沉积得到的多层无定形薄膜经低温扩散、高温晶化, 形成BST:Re多晶薄膜. 以扫描近场微波显微镜测定BST:Re/MgO(Re=Er, Eu, Pr/Al)样品的介电常数, 研究掺杂种类及掺杂浓度对BST薄膜介电常数的影响. 结果表明, 稀土离子的适量掺杂使BST薄膜介电常数有所提高, 其中, Er3+和Eu3+的最佳掺杂浓度分别为4.5%及5.7%(原子分数) 左右时, 介电常数值达到最高. 而共掺杂Pr3+和Al3+的样品则在n(AL):n(Pr)为4-8之间介电性能最佳. 另外, 测量了BST:Re/Si(Re=Er, Eu)样品的光致发光谱, 发现Er3+和Eu3+在BST薄膜样品中的发光猝灭浓度分别为4.20%和8.95%(原子分数).     

Enhanced ferroelectric,dielectric and leakage properties in Ce and Ti co-doping BiFeO3 thin films

Pure BiFeO₃ (BFO), Ce and Ti individual doping and co-doping BiFeO₃ thin films were fabricated via sol–gel process on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates. The microstructure, surface morphology, ferroelectric and dielectric properties of BFO and doped thin films were investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction reveal that all thin films are confirmed the formation of the distorted rhombohedral perovskite structure. No impure phase is identified in all the films. The Ce and Ti co-doping BiFeO₃ (BCFTO) thin films exhibited the enhanced ferroelectricity with a large remnant polarization (2P _r) of 130 μC/cm², and low leakage current density of 9.10 × 10^?6 A/cm² which is more than two orders of magnitude lower than that of pure BFO films at 100 kV/cm. The dielectric constant (364 at 1 kHz) of the BCFTO thin films is much larger than that of pure BFO thin films. These results suggest that the introductions of Ce and Ti provides an effective route for improving the ferroelectric, dielectric and leakage properties of BFO thin films.     

Photosensitive sol–gel preparation and micro-patterning of (100)-oriented (Ba0.7Sr0.3)TiO3 film on LaNiO3 electrode

Using La(NO₃)₃·nH₂O and Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O as starting materials, the LaNiO₃ sol was prepared with 2-methoxyethanol as solvent. Using this sol, (001)-oriented LNO films with high conductivity were prepared on LaAlO₃ single crystal substrate by sol–gel method. Using barium acetate, strontium acetate, and Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ as starting materials, acetylacetone and lactic acid as chemical modifiers, photosensitive BST sol was obtained. Using the BST sol, a-oriented BST films were prepared on (001)LNO/LAO. Due to the photosensitivity of the BST sol, the coated BST gel film itself can be used as photoresist. Thus, micro-patterned a-oriented BST films are obtained by exposing, leaching, and annealing the BST gel film. The a-oriented BST film capacitor on LNO/LAO has a high dielectric constant, a low dielectric loss and a low leakage current.     

Prediction of the terminations and Miller planes of the tetragonal zirconia thin films as a gate dielectric layer in integrated-circuit industry

In this paper, we investigate the structures and insulating characters of the tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO₂) thin films with various possible terminations within the lower-index Miller planes (001) and (100). It is found that, firstly, a shift towards higher energy region makes the valence band of the OO-terminated thin films of the (001) Miller plane of t-ZrO₂ cross the Fermi level E_F and thus are unusable as a gate dielectric oxide in integrated-circuit (IC) industry because of large-leakage current. Secondly, a new splitting state presented just below the bottom of conduction band, and the Fermi level E_F drops between them, which imply that the Zr-terminated thin films of the (001) Miller plane of t-ZrO₂ are also unusable as a gate dielectric oxide in IC industry because of large leakage current. Thirdly, the insulating character disappears completely for Zr + OO-terminated thin films of the (001) Miller plane of t-ZrO₂ and thus is also unusable as a gate dielectric oxide in IC industry because of metal character. Fourthly, the insulating character is maintained for the ZrO₂-terminated thin films of the (100) Miller plane and thus is usable as a gate dielectric oxide in IC industry.     

Crystallization Temperature Limit of (Ba,Sr)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Thin Films Prepared by a Non Oxocarbonate Phase Forming CSD Route

A new chemical solution deposition (CSD) route for the fabrication of Ba_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃ (BST) thin films has been developed which completely prevents the formation of an intermediate oxo-carbonate phase. The latter has been reported previously by several authors to be responsible for increased crystallization temperatures. Barium and strontium diaminoethoxides were synthesized starting from pure barium and strontium metal and aminoethanol. These alkoxides were found to be readily soluble in a wide range of solvents and thus were excellent candidates for the CSD process. To prepare a stable precursor solution the aminoalkoxides were dissolved in 2-butoxyethanol and then used for the deposition of BST thin films. We conclude that the minimum crystallization temperature of 600C to be independent of the formation of the oxo-carbonate phase. DTA-TGA were performed on the precursors and their solutions to study their decomposition behaviour. All films annealed at different temperatures were physically characterized by XRD, IR, and SEM. The films prepared by this route at 650C were found to have high dielectric constant and the leakage currents were comparable to BST films prepared by normal carboxylate based routes at 750C.     

High performance distributed CPW phase shifters with etched BST thin films on Ф 3″ LaAlO3 substrates

The design, fabrication and microwave properties of distributed coplanar waveguide (CPW) phase shifters using etched Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BST) thin films on Ф 3″ LaAlO₃ (100) substrates were investigated. The BST thin films employed in the circuits are deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, and then annealed at 800 °C for 30 min in air. BST thin films parallel-plate capacitors were fabricated by photolithography and etching process. At 10 kHz and 600 kV/cm electric field, the dielectric tunability, remanent polarization (2P_r) and the coercive electric field (2E_C) of BST film were 28.7%, 2.265 μC/cm² and 38.8 kV/cm, respectively. The loss tangent was 0.005 at zero electric field. The CPW phase-shifter designed was subsequently fabricated by optimum BST thin films and thickened top electrodes. At 21.3 GHz and 35 V, 360° phase shift was achieved, the insertion loss was −8.5 dB, the ?gure-of-merit (FOM) was 42.4°/dB, and the return loss was −12.1 dB.     

Substrate dependent structure and in-plane dielectric properties of Ba(Sn0.15Ti0.85)O3 thin films

The structure, microstructure and in-plane dielectric properties of Barium tin titanate Ba(Sn_0.15Ti_0.85)O₃ (BTS) thin films grown on (100) LaAlO₃ (LAO) and (100) MgO single crystal substrates through sol–gel process were investigated. The films deposited on (100) LAO substrate exhibited a strong (100) preferred orientation while the film deposited on (100) MgO substrate showed polycrystalline structure. The in-plane ɛ–T measurements reveal that the films grown on (100) LAO substrate exhibited an obvious room-temperature ferroelectric state, while the film grown on MgO substrate showed paraelectric state in the temperature range of 10–130 °C. A high tunability of 52.11% was observed for the BTS films deposited on (100) LAO substrate at the frequency of 1 MHz with an applied electric field of 80 kV/cm, which is about two times larger than that of the BTS films deposited on (100) MgO substrate. The obvious differences in the dielectric properties could be attributed to the stress in the films, which come from lattice mismatch and difference in the thermal expansion coefficients between the film and substrates. This work clearly reveals the highly promising potential of BTS films for application in tunable devices.     

Sol-gel processing and properties of cerium doped Barium Strontium Titanate thin films

A stock solution sol-gel based method for making Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) thin films has been developed. A modified titanium alkoxide was combined with a barium and/or strontium inorganic salt in methoxyethanol and ethylene glycol to form the solution. The effect of chemistry on the stability of this BST solution is discussed. The crystallization temperature of 700–725°C for rapid thermally processed films dropped by 100°C using cerium doping. The permittivity for undoped films was 250 and doping by 3 at. % Ce increased the dielectric constant by 20%. A remanent polarization of approximately 0.5 C/cm² and coercive field of 28 kV/cm were measured for the undoped films. The leakage current densities were <10 nA/cm² at E=60 kV/cm and improved for cerium concentrations up to 3 at. %. The charge storage density was 50 fF/m² at 200 kV/cm and the DC breakdown voltage was 300 kV/cm for Ce doped films.     

Electrical and Optical Properties of MgO Thin Film Prepared by Sol-Gel Technique

MgO thin films with either (111) or (200) preferential orientation have been prepared on (100) Si substrates by sol-gel method after a heat-treatment at 800°C. The obtained (111) preferentially oriented MgO film has a dielectric constant of 7.0 with a loss factor of 5% and a dielectric strength higher than 8 × 10⁵ V/cm. The optical refractive index, which depends on the film thickness, is 1.71 when the film thickness is 260 nm. The surface structure of the Si substrate is believed to affect the preferential orientation of the sol-gel derived MgO film. Specifically, the microstructures at the interface indicate an interdiffusion of Mg, O, and Si between the film and the substrate.     

Low-Temperature Synthesis of Single-Phase Barium Strontium Titanate Thin Film with a nm-Seeding Technique and Its Dielectric Properties

Dielectric barium strontium titanate (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃, BST) thin films containing crystalline seeds of BST nanoparticles were prepared on indium titanium oxide (ITO) glass electrodes with a complex alkoxide precursor method. BST precursor solution that dispersed the BST particles was spin-coated on the electrode and annealed at various temperatures. Thickness of the film was about 300 nm, and BST particle concentration in the film was varied from 0 to 17 mol%. An unseeded BST film was crystallized into a perovskite structure by annealing at 600C, while the seeding with the 17 mol%-BST particles promoted crystalline growth of BST perovskite and lowered crystallization temperature of the films to 525C. Measurement of dielectric properties at 1 kHz showed that the 4.9 mol% BST-seeded film annealed at 600C had a relative dielectric constant of 303, which was higher than that of the unseeded BST film.     

Enhanced dielectric properties of LSCO-buffered Ba(Sn<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>0.95</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin film prepared by sol–gel processing

Ferroelectric Ba(Sn_0.05Ti_0.95)O₃ (BTS) thin films were deposited onto Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by sol–gel technique with a 100 nm thick LSCO buffer layer. The influence of buffer layer on the phase and microstructure of the thin films was examined. Dielectric properties of the thin films were investigated as a function of frequency and direct current (DC) electric field. The results show that the LSCO buffer layer had a marked effect on the dielectric properties of the BTS films. The BTS thin films with LSCO buffer layer had enhanced dielectric properties.     

Unexpected formation by pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured Fe/olivine thin films on MgO substrates

Olivine-type LiFePO₄ thin films were grown on MgO (1 0 0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The formation of an original nanostructure is evidenced by transmission electron microscopy measurements. Indeed, on focused ion beam prepared cross sections of the thin film, we observe, the amazing formation of metallic iron/olivine nanostructures. The appearance of such a structure is explained owing to a topotactic relation between the two phases as well as a strong Mg diffusion from the substrate to the film surface. Magnesium migration is thus concomitant with the creation of metallic iron domains that grow from the core of the film to the surface leading to large protuberances. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on iron extrusion from the olivine-type LiFePO₄.     

Dielectric properties and I-V characteristics of (Pb<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films improved by TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> buffer layers

A TiO₂ thin buffer layer was introduced between the (Pb_0.4Sr_0.6)TiO₃ (PST) film and the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate in an attempt to improve their electrical properties. Both TiO₂ and PST layers were prepared by a chemical solution deposition method. It was found that the TiO₂ buffer layer increased the (100)/(001) preferred orientation of PST and decreased the surface roughness of the films, leading to an enhancement in electrical properties including an increase in dielectric constant and in its tunability by DC voltage, as well as a decrease in dielectric loss and leakage current density. At an optimized thickness of the TiO₂ buffer layer deposited using 0.02 mol/l TiO₂ sol, the 330-nm-thick PST films had a dielectric constant, loss and tunability of 1126, 0.044 and 60.7% at 10 kHz, respectively, while the leakage current density was 1.95 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm² at 100 kV/cm.     

Effect of biphase on dielectric properties of Bi-doped lead strontium titanate thin films

Pb_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ (PST) thin films doped with various concentration of Bi were prepared by a sol-gel method. The phase status, surface morphology and dielectric properties of these thin films were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and impedance analyzer, respectively. Results showed that the thin films with the maximum dielectric constant and minimum dielectric loss were obtained for x=0.15. For x<0.15, only pure PST perovskite phase were in the thin films. For 0.2<x<0.4, the PST/Bi₂Ti₂O₇ biphase were obtained. The thin films with pure Bi₂Ti₂O₇ pyrochlore phase were obtained for x=0.67. The biphase thin films had high tunability and high figure of merit (FOM). The FOM of PST/Bi₂Ti₂O₇ biphase thin film was about 6 times higher than that thin films formed with pure perovskite phase or pure pyrochlore phase.     

Neo-Pentoxide Precursor Synthesis,Solution Preparation,and Electronic Properties of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 Thin Films Derived from a Solution Route

We have recently isolated the neo-pentoxide (HOCH₂CMe₃, ONp) derivatives of Ba, Sr, and Ti as Ba₄(ONp)₈(HONp)₆(py)₂, Sr₅(O)(ONp)₈(Solv)₅ (Solv = solvent), and Ti₂(ONp)₈, respectively. The combination of these precursors were found to be readily soluble in a wide range of solvents and thus were excellent candidates for preparation of barium strontium titanate ((Ba,Sr)TiO₃ or BST) thin films using spin-cast deposition techniques. The highest quality BST films for this system were generated from ternary mixtures dissolved in either pyridine or pyridine/toluene. By in situ VT-GIXRD analysis it was determined that the perovskite phase of BST was readily formed at 650°C. The electronic properties of films crystallized at 700°C indicated that the thin films (300 nm) possessed a dielectric constant of 120 (tan = 0.03) with a tunability of 29% at ±10 V. 300 nm films (700°C) which had been generated from a standard BST solution modified with a novel tridentate ligand, had a higher dielectric constant of 180 and a tunability of 35% at ±10 V. The collective characteristics of these precursors offer an attractive alternative to the more complex, less stable sol-gel precursors currently in use.     

The diffusion of Pt in BST films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by sol-gel method

Barium strontium titanate (Ba_0.65Sr_0.35TiO₃) ferroelectric thin films have been prepared by sol-gel method on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated that the films were a polycrystalline perovskite structure and the atomic force microscope (AFM) image showed that the crystallite size and the root mean square roughness (RMS) were 90 nm and 3.6 nm, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) images showed that Pt consisting in BST thin films was the metallic state, and the Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysed the Pt concentration in different depth profiles of BST thin films. The result displayed that the Pt diffusion in BST thin film is divided into two regions: near the BST/Pt interface, the diffusion type was volume diffusion, and far from the interface correspondingly, the diffusion type became grain boundary diffusion. In this paper, the previous researcher’s result was used to verify our conclusion.