Microwave properties of tetragonally distorted (Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 thin films

A strong correlation is observed between the structure and the microwave dielectric properties of epitaxial Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin films deposited onto (001) MgO by pulsed laser deposition. Films were deposited at 750 degrees C in an oxygen pressure that was varied from 3 to 1000 mTorr. The tetragonal distortion (ratio of in-plane and surface normal lattice parameters, D = a/c) of the films depends on the oxygen deposition pressure. D varied from 0.996 at 3 mTorr to 1.003 at 800 mTorr. At microwave frequencies (1-20 GHz), BST films with low distortion have higher dielectric constants (epsilon similar to 500), and lower dielectric loss (tan delta similar to 0.02) compared to films with higher distortion. The correlation of the microwave properties with the film structure can be attributed to stresses and polarizability in the film. The BST film grown at the oxygen deposition pressure of 50 mTorr exhibits a large dielectric constant change and a low dielectric loss at the same time, which corresponds to the film in low stress (D = 1.0004). For tunable microwave applications, BST films with low stress are desirable in order to achieve both low dielectric loss and large tunability. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)01109-8].