Extremely High Tunability and Low Loss in Nanoscaffold Ferroelectric Films

There are numerous radio frequency and microwave device applications which require materials with high electrical tunability and low dielectric loss. For phased array antenna applications there is also a need for materials which can operate above room temperature and which have a low temperature coefficient of capacitance. We have created a nanoscaffold composite ferroelectric material containing Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 and Sm2O3 which has a very high tunability which scales inversely with loss. This behavior is opposite to what has been demonstrated in any previous report. Furthermore, the materials operate from room temperature to above 150 degrees C, while maintaining high tunability and low temperature coefficient of tunability. This new paradigm in dielectric property control comes about because of a vertical strain control mechanism which leads to high tetragonality (c/a ratio of 1.0126) in the BSTO. Tunability values of 75% (200 kV/cm field) were achieved at room temperature in micrometer thick films, the value remaining to >50% at 160 degrees C. Low dielectric loss values of <0.01 were also achieved, significantly lower than reference pure films.