Pulsed Laser Deposition of LaAlO3-Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 Thin Films for Tunable Device Applications

LaAlO3-Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (LAO-BST) thin films, with different LAO contents, were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and (100) LaAlO3 substrate, via a pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Phase composition and microstructure of the LAO-BST thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The LAO-BST thin films were solid solution of LAO nd BST, with lattice constant decreasing with increasing LAO content. The composition of (LAO)x(BST)1-x, estimated from the lattice constant of the thin films derived from the targets of 1/6, 2/6 and 3/6 LAO, was 0.143, 0.278, 0.476, respectively. The grain size of the thin films decreased as a result of the incorporation of LAO into BST. Dielectric properties of the LAO-BST thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si were measured at low frequency (100 kHz), while those on LaAlO3 substrate were characterized at high frequency (~7.9 GHz). The dielectric constants of the film derived from pure BST target and those from the targets with 1/6, 2/6 and 3/6 area ratio of LAO, on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate, were 772, 514, 395 and 282, with a dielectric loss of 0.096, 0.023, 0.024 and 0.025, and a dielectric tunability of 65%, 53%, 43% and 14%, respectively. The dielectric constant of the LAO-BST films on LaAlO3 substrate were 2436, 2148, 2018, 1805, with a maximum dielectric tunability of 11%, 13%, 10% and 8% at a maximum applied voltage of 2.4 kV (~9.2 kV/cm).