Characterization of quality of BaxSr1−xTiO3 thin film by the commutation quality factor measured at microwaves

The loss factor (tan δ) of ferroelectric material at microwaves and the tunability (n) defined as a ratio of the dielectric permittivity at zero dc field to the dielectric permittivity at the given field are strongly connected with the softness of so-called ferroelectric soft mode. The loss factor and the tunability are generalized by the commutation quality factor (CQF). The dielectric response of a ferroelectric material allows one to determine the CQF and to compare it to the theoretical CQF obtained for a perfect ferroelectric sample. In order to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental data, the influence of deposition parameters on microwave properties of BaxSr1−xTiO3 (BSTO) films deposited on sapphire and alumina substrate has been investigated in a wide frequency range (1–30 GHz). The highest CQF at room temperature was obtained for the 30% Ba content target and the deposition temperature 905 °C. The best BSTO films exhibited CQF≅1.6×104 with n=2.1 and tan δ=0.012 at 1 GHz and zero bias...