Combinatorial synthesis of thin film libraries for microwave dielectrics

The short innovation cycles in communication technology require the development and optimization of high-performance dielectrics for passive integration, utilized, e.g., in band pass filters, antennas, or dielectric resonators. Applying combinatorial methods offers the advantage to accelerate the discovery of more efficient microwave dielectrics and to investigate the effects of a variety of dopants on the dielectric properties. In the present study, libraries consisting of chemically diverse thin films are produced by chemical solution deposition. A sol-gel precursor set was developed consisting of precursor solutions for different elements, such as Ba, Ti, W, and Sr, which convert to the corresponding oxides by annealing. These precursor solutions are mixed in various ratios by pipetting robots and are then deposited on structured substrates followed by calcination and sintering. The influence of different parameters on the film quality such as the type of precursor used, their miscibility with each other, the thermal processing, and the technique used to pre-structure the wafer is discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.