Effect of microstructures on the microwave dielectric properties of ZrTiO4 thin films

To obtain various paraelectric ZrTiO4 thin-film microstructures, the films were synthesized at different deposition temperatures using rf magnetron sputtering. Both the dielectric losses (tan delta) and dielectric constants (epsilon) of the ZrTiO4 thin films were measured up to 6 GHz using a circular-patch capacitor geometry. The films showed enhanced crystallinity with increasing deposition temperature. as determined from the x-ray diffraction peak; widths at various scattering vectors. The microwave dielectric losses correlated very well with the level of crystallinity or strain, while the dielectric constants did not alter significantly. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.