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Improved Tunability and Energy Storage Density Properties of Low-Loss, Lead-Free (Ba0.50Sr0.50)TiO3 and Ba(Zr0.15Ti0.85)O3 Bilayer Thin Film Stacks

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Abstract

Multilayer thin films of (Ba0.50Sr0.50)TiO3 (BST) and Ba(Zr0.15Ti0.85)O3 (BZT) were designed and grown using pulsed laser deposition technology. The periodic (BST/BZT)n thin films were deposited on Pt‹111›/SiO2/Si substrates. X-ray diffraction revealed the presence of a polycrystalline, perovskite structure corresponding to the bilayer thin film stacks. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the multilayer structure without any interdiffusion across layers. It was also found that the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the thin films were strongly influenced by the periodic heterostructures. The thin film stacks exhibited significantly higher tunability as compared with multilayer thin films grown on various single-crystal substrates such as LaAlO3, MgO and SrTiO3. Possible mechanisms explaining the other observed attributes such as improved dielectric properties and reduced leakage current are discussed. The effect of incorporating a comparatively lower-permittivity thin film in the multilayer stacks is presented. The observed properties of such multilayer structured films will aid in realizing low-loss and highly tunable applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Defence Research and Development Organization, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi for carrying out the present work. Also, the authors would like to thank the Director of Defence Metallurgical Research laboratory (DMRL) for permitting publication of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ceramics and Composites Group, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, 500058, India

    M. L. V. Mahesh, V. V. Bhanu Prasad & A. R. James

  2. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana, 502285, India

    M. L. V. Mahesh & Prem Pal

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Mahesh, M.L.V., Pal, P., Prasad, V.V.B. et al. Improved Tunability and Energy Storage Density Properties of Low-Loss, Lead-Free (Ba0.50Sr0.50)TiO3 and Ba(Zr0.15Ti0.85)O3 Bilayer Thin Film Stacks. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 727–735 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-021-09329-1

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