Rf-magnetron sputtered strontium titanate: Structure, processing and property relationships

The low frequency dielectric properties of epitaxial SrTiO3 thin films deposited on LaAlO3 are presented. The films were deposited using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering from stoichiometric targets in an Ar/O-2 atmosphere. For the first time, the effects of in situ ozone annealing during the early stages of deposition were explored. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the ozone treatment resulted in more symmetric and sharper diffraction peaks (2 Theta-FWHM decreased from 0.17 degrees to 0.10 degrees). In addition, the peaks for the ozone treated samples were shifted in 20 towards values approaching the bulk value. Rutherford backscattering measurements showed Sr/Ti ratios of 1:1 for these samples, indicating these peak shifts are not due to compositional variations. The dielectric constant of the ozone treated samples increased from 275 at room temperature to 1175 at 22 K (measured at 100 kHz). The effective loss tangent of the device remained between 1 x 10(-4) and 1 x 10(-3) down to 100 K, where it began to increase. The tunability was also measured. The ozone treated sample showed tunability of 46%, 43% and 38% at 22 K, 40 K and 60 K, respectively. Finally, similar measurements were completed at 1 MHz, indicating a minimal dependence of these properties on frequencies in this range.