Microwave properties of compositionally graded (Ba, Sr)TiO3 thin films according to the direction of the composition gradient for tunable microwave applications

Compositionally graded (Ba-x, Sr1-x)TiO3 (BST) thin films were deposited on MgO substrates by pulsed laser ablation. The microwave properties of the graded BST thin films were investigated at microwave frequencies with coplanar waveguide (CPW) meander-line phase shifters as a function of the direction of the composition gradient with respect to the substrate at room temperature. CPW phase shifters using graded BaTiO3(BT)-->SrTiO3(ST) and ST-->BT thin films exhibited a differential phase shift of 73degrees and 22degrees at 10 GHz with a dc bias voltage of 150 V, respectively. The figure of merit of the phase shifters at 10 GHz was 14.6 deg/dB for the graded BT-->ST film, and 10 deg/dB for the graded ST-->BT film. The graded BT-->ST thin films showed a larger phase tuning than the ST-->BT thin films. The microwave properties of the graded BST films depended strongly on the crystalline structure and the direction of the composition gradient with respect to the substrate. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.