Achieving high breakdown strength and figure of merit of Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 films through coating a Y3Fe5O12 layer

Low tunability and figure of merit significantly limited the application of Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BST) ferroelectric film, which originates from the low electric breakdown strength and high dielectric loss of BST layer. Garnet structured Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (YIG) exhibits the merits of good microwave dielectric property and a much high resistivity, which are helpful for enhancing the breakdown strength and suppressing the dielectric loss. In this work, Y₃Fe₅O₁₂/Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (YIG/BST) composite films were fabricated via chemical solution deposition method. The composite films exhibited a low dielectric loss (0.006) and an almost frequency independent dielectric constant in a frequency range from 10 kHz to 1 MHz. The electric breakdown strength was significantly enhanced from less than 400 kV/cm to around 800 kV/cm through coating a YIG layer, causing an excellent tunability of 72.84% and an ultra-high figure of merit (FOM=118) at 800 kV/cm in YIG/BST film. It is physically clarified that the conduction loss plays an important role in BST film while the intrinsic loss is the dominate factor for the YIG/BST composite films.     

Dielectric properties of Fe-doped Ba0.65Sr0.35TiO3 thin films fabricated by the sol–gel method

Fe-doped Ba_0.65Sr_0.35TiO₃ (BST) thin films have been fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate using the sol–gel method. The structural and surface morphology, dielectric, and leakage current properties of undoped and 1 mol% and 2 mol% Fe-doped BST thin films have been studied in detail. The results demonstrate that the Fe-doped BST films exhibit improved dielectric loss, tunability, and leakage current characteristics as compared to the undoped BST thin films. The improved figure of merit (FOM) of Fe-doped BST thin film suggests a strong potential for utilization in microwave tunable devices.     

Excellent energy storage performance of paraelectric Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3 based ceramics through induction of polar nano-regions

Dielectric energy storage materials with congenitally high power densities and ultrafast discharge rates have been extensively studied for emergent applications. As a typical and traditional dielectric material, paraelectric Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ (BST) ceramic exhibits a moderate dielectric constant (ε_r), low dielectric loss and slightly nonlinear P–E hysteresis. However, its energy storage density (W) is extremely low because of its low maximum polarisation (P_max) and weak breakdown strength (BDS). In this study, ferroelectric Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NBT) was introduced into paraelectric BST to enhance energy storage performance. The results show that the introduction of NBT induced polar nano-regions (PNRs) in the paraelectric matrix, resulting in a slim hysteresis loop with low remnant polarisation (P_r) and high P_max simultaneously. Furthermore, owing to a decrease in the oxygen vacancy concentration and an increase in the band gap energy, the BDS of the BST ceramic also significantly increased. As a consequence, a remarkable energy storage density (W_rec = 3.89 J/cm³) and a high energy storage efficiency (η = 83.8%) were realised in the 0.75Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃-0.25Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃ (0.75BST–0.25NBT) ceramic under a practical electric field of 360 kV/cm. Moreover, the ceramic also exhibited an excellent current density (～1029.7 A/cm²) and ultrahigh power density (～128.7 MW/cm²). The attained energy storage performances indicate that the NBT-modified BST ceramics are promising materials for high energy storage capacitor applications field.     

Impedance spectroscopic studies of sol–gel derived barium strontium titanate thin films

In the present work electroceramic thin films of barium strontium titanate (Ba_1?xSr_xTiO₃ – BST) were deposited on stainless steel substrates by sol–gel technique. Homogeneous Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ thin films as well as spatially inhomogeneous BST thin films exhibiting artificial gradients in composition normal to the growth surface were deposited. Both up- and down-graded BST films were fabricated by depositing successive layers with Sr mole fraction x ranging from x = 0.5 to x = 0.3. In the present study the tool of impedance spectroscopy has been used to study the dielectric properties of BST thin films at room temperature. To analyze the impedance spectroscopy data the Nyquist (Z″ vs. Z′) plots as well as the simultaneous representation of the imaginary part of impedance and electrical modulus (Z″, M″) vs. frequency were used. Experimental data were fitted using the CNLS fitting method. Agreement between experimental and simulated data was established. The data indicated that the thin film samples fabricated can be represented by an equivalent circuit with two relaxation frequencies.     

Investigation on Tunable Performance of BMN/BST Multilayer and BMN–BST Composite Thin Films

The BMN/BST multilayer and BMN–BST composite thin films have been fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Au/TiO_x/SiO₂/Si substrate. The multilayer thin films comprising one, two, and four periodic compositional Bi_1.5MgNb_1.5O₇/Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BMN/BST) layers (PCBLs) have been elaborated with the final same thickness. The four PCBLs show the largest dielectric constant of ~168 and tunability of 40.6% at a maximum applied bias field of 0.67 MV/cm and the lowest loss tangent of ~0.006, whereas the figure of merit (FOM) is 72. The BMN–BST composite thin films exhibit medium dielectric constant of ~238, low loss tangent of ~0.0053, and superior tunable dielectric properties at room temperature. Calculations of tunability and FOM display a maximum value of 49.3% at 670 kV/cm and ~88, respectively.     

Microstructure and dielectric properties of Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3-MgAl2O4 composite ceramics

(1 − x)Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃-xMgAl₂O₄(x = 25, 30, 35 and 40 wt%) composite ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The microstructures, dielectric properties and tunability of the composites have been investigated. The XRD patterns analysis reveals two crystalline phases, a cubic perovskite structure Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BST) and a spinel structure MgAl₂O₄ (MA). SEM observations show that the BST grains slightly dwindle and agglomerate with increasing amounts of MA. A dielectric peak with very strong frequency dispersion is observed at higher MA content, and the Curie temperature shifts to a higher temperature with increasing MA content. The ceramic sample with 30 wt% MA has the optimized properties: the dielectric constant is 1503, the dielectric loss is 0.003 at 10 kHz and 25 °C, the tunability is 23.63% under a dc electric field of 1.0 kV/mm, which is suitable for ferroelectric phase shifter.     

Low Dielectric Loss and Good Dielectric Thermal Stability of xNd(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3–(1−x)Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 Thin Films Fabricated by Sol–Gel Method

xNd(Zn_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃–(1?x)Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (xNZT–BST) thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by sol–gel method with x = 0, 3%, 6%, and 10%. The structures, surface morphology, dielectric and ferroelectric properties, and thermal stability of xNZT–BST thin films were investigated as a function of NZT content. It was observed that the introduction of NZT into BST decreased grain size, dielectric constant, ferroelectricity, tunability, and significantly improved dielectric loss and dielectric thermal stability. The corresponding reasons were discussed. The 10%NZT–BST thin film exhibited the least dielectric loss of 0.005 and the lowest temperature coefficient of permittivity (TCP) of 3.2 × 10^?3/°C. In addition, the figure of merit (FOM) of xNZT–BST (x = 3%, 6%, and 10%) films was higher than that of pure BST film. Our results showed that the introduction of appropriate NZT into BST could modify the dielectric quality of BST thin films with good thermal stability. Especially for the 3%NZT–BST thin film, it showed the highest FOM of 33.58 for its appropriate tunability of 32.87% and low dielectric loss of 0.0098.     

Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3/MgO Composites with Enhanced Energy Storage Density and Low Dielectric Loss for Solid-State Pulse-Forming Line

(100−x) wt% Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃−x wt% MgO composites (10≤x≤30) were prepared using Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ powder and nanosized MgO powder (∼60 nm) by a solid-state reaction. The energy storage density and dielectric loss were investigated for the purpose of a potential application in solid-state pulse-forming line. The results show that Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃/MgO composites exhibit a notably enhanced energy density and low dielectric loss, compared with pure Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃. The enhancement of the energy density is attributed to the notable increase in breakdown strength of the composites and the improvement of dielectric constant stability with regard to electric field. In the case of x=30, the samples exhibited a breakdown strength of 33.1 kV/mm, an energy density of 1.14 J/cm³, a moderate dielectric constant of 270, and a low dielectric loss of 4 × 10⁻⁴.     

High Tunability of Nonepitaxially Grown Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 Thin Films Prepared by Plasma‐Assisted Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nonepitaxially grown Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (NE‐BSTO) thin film with tunability of 65.4% and low leakage current was obtained on Ir electrode by oxygen plasma‐assisted pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and epitaxially grown Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (E‐BSTO) thin film with tunability of 32.5% was obtained by PLD without plasma assistance. Results indicate that the NE‐BSTO film possessed higher oxygen content, lower tetragonal distortion, and low stress, all of which contributed to its excellent dielectric properties. This work demonstrates that NE‐BSTO thin films are well suited for room temperature tunable microwave device applications.     

Thickness effects on microwave properties of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 films for frequency agile technologies

We fabricated (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)TiO₃ (BST) thin films of various thicknesses on sapphire (−1 1 2 0) substrates using metal-organic decomposition method. These films showed grain growth from 160 to 650 nm with an increase in the thickness from 90 to 1050 nm. At microwave frequencies, the measured capacitances of the planar capacitors decreased with the film thickness because the electro-magnetic field propagates across high permittivity BST films to the low permittivity sapphire substrate. However, we found that the BST-thin film permittivity remained large up to 90 nm thick, based on electro-magnetic field analysis using the finite element method. On the other hand, the BST thin film tunability decreased with the film thickness.     

Optimized energy storage performances in morphotropic phase boundary (Na0.8K0.2)0.5Bi0.5TiO3-based lead-free ferroelectric thin films

As microelectronic devices move toward integration and miniaturization, the thin film capacitors with high energy density and charge/discharge efficiency have attracted immense interests in modern electrical energy storage systems. Despite morphotropic phase boundary (Na_0.8K_0.2)_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-based lead-free materials with outstanding ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties, while large ferroelectric hysteresis with high remanent polarization (P_r) hinder to improve energy storage capability. Here, novel lead-free relaxor-ferroelectric (RFE) thin film capacitors with high energy density are successfully prepared in (1-x) (Na_0.8K_0.2)_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-xBa_0.3Sr_0.7TiO₃ [(1-x)NKBT-xBST] systems. Introducing BST into the NKBT systems is expected to reduce remanent polarization (P_r) on account of coupling reestablishment of the polar nano-regions (PNRs) and improving the relaxation behavior. As a result, 0.6NKBT-0.4BST thin film exhibits high energy density (W_rec ～ 54.79 J/cm³) together with satisfactory efficiency (η ～ 76.42%) at 3846 kV/cm. The stable energy storage performances are achieved within the scope of operating temperatures (20–200 °C) and fatigue cycles (1-10⁷ cycles). This work furnishes a new technological way for the design of high energy-density thin film capacitors.     

热处理对 Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 厚膜介电性能的影响

采用柠檬酸盐法制备了Ba_(0.6)Sr_(0.4)TiO_3粉体,通过丝网印刷法制备了Ba_(0.6)Sr_(0.4)TiO_3厚膜,研究了在空气气氛中进行热处理前后厚膜样品的介电性能。研究结果表明,在空气气氛中进行热处理可以有效地提高厚膜样品的介电性能。经过1000°C热处理,厚膜样品在10 kH z下的介电损耗由1.7%降为1.1%,其优质系数由33提高到55。     

B-site modification of (Ba0.6Sr0.4)TiO3 ceramics with enhanced diffuse phase transition behavior

(Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)TiO₃ (BST) ceramics modified with both Zr and Mn were synthesized via a traditional solid state reaction route. Pure perovskite structure and dense morphology were obtained for all specimens. An enhanced diffuse phase transition (DPT) behavior induced by Mn substitution was detected. We suggest that such enhanced DPT behavior was beneficial for BST practical applications due to the improved dielectric thermal stability while maintaining good dielectric performance. The impact of Mn concentration on the microstructure, dielectric properties, and DPT diffuseness was investigated.     

Microstructures and dielectric properties of spark plasma sintered Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3/CaCu3Ti4O12 composite ceramics

(1 − x)Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃/xCaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ composite ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Sintering behavior, microstructures and dielectric properties of the composite ceramics were investigated by XRD, SEM, EDS and dielectric spectrometer. Dense composite ceramics consisting of Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ phase and CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ phase were prepared at 800 °C for 0 min. The dielectric loss of the composite ceramic decreased with increasing amount of Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃, and the high dielectric constant were retained. Moreover, the better temperature stability of dielectric constant was obtained. These improvements of dielectric characteristics have great scientific significance for potential application.     

Fabrication and Dielectric Properties of Ba0.63Sr0.37TiO3 Thin Films on SiC Substrates

Ba_0.63Sr_0.37TiO₃ (BST) films were first deposited on SiC substrates with LNO bottom electrodes by magnetron sputtering. The BST/LNO/SiC thin films exhibit high dielectric tunability and low dielectric loss while maintaining excellent temperature coefficient of dielectric constant in the temperature range between 250 and 350 K. We also investigated the effect of film thickness on the dielectric properties. BST(430 nm)/LNO/SiC film has higher tunability (68.09% @700 kV/cm), lower loss tangent (tanδ = 0.00987) and quite a bit higher figure of merit (FOM = 68.99) as compared with that of BST(300 nm)/LNO/SiC film. Our results demonstrate that combining ferroelectric BST films with SiC substrates is very promising for the development of tunable devices over a large temperature range.     

Property optimization of Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3–BaMoO4 composite ceramics for tunable microwave applications

(1 ? x)Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃–xBaMoO₄ ceramics with x = 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 wt% were prepared by traditional solid-state reaction method. Two crystalline phases, a cubic perovskite structure Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃ (BST) and a tetragonal scheelite structure BaMoO₄ (BM) were obtained by XRD analysis. The microwave dielectric properties of Ba_0.4Sr_0.6TiO₃–BaMoO₄ composite ceramics were investigated systematically. The results show that the composite ceramics exhibited promising microwave properties. The dielectric constant can be adjusted in the range from 900 to 78, while maintaining relatively high tunability from 27.3% to 12.8% under a direct current electric field of 60 kV/cm and Q values from 619 to 67 in the gigahertz frequency region.     

Preparation of La1?x Sr x CoO3 Oxide Electrode Material and its Influence on the Structure and Dielectric Performance of the Supported Ba1?x Sr x TiO3 Thin Films

Using the sol–gel method, La_1−x Sr _x CoO₃ (LSCO) electrode films were first fabricated on the Si (100) substrates, followed by the growth of Ba_1−x Sr _x TiO₃ (BST) thin films on the LSCO electrode film. The crystal structure and surface morphology of these films were characterized by XRD and SEM. The effects of Sr-doping and annealing temperature on the structure and electric resistivity of the LSCO films and the dielectric properties of the BST films were studied. Results show that the La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ electrode annealed at 750 °C has the lowest electric resistivity, 1.1 × 10⁻³Ω cm. The relative permittivity of the La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃-supported BST films first increases and then decreases with Sr-doping. The relative permittivity of the BST film decreases while the dielectric loss increases with frequency. Among the studied BST films, Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ has the largest relative permittivity and the smallest dielectric loss (95 and 0.1, respectively) when the frequency is 1 kHz.     

Combustion-synthesized ferrites and ferroelectrics for microwave applications

The individual phases of Ni_{1 ? x} Cd _x Fe₂O₄ (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) ferrite and Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ ferroelectric (BST phase) were successfully prepared by autocombustion route. The oscillatory behavior of transmittance for the Ni-Cd ferrite was observed at about 0.44 at 8.2 GHz. The absorption study depicts the hopping phenomena of microwaves through the Ni-Cd phase. The dependence of microwave conductivity on ferrite content was discussed. The dielectric permittivity of Ni-Cd ferrites varied between 10 and 30. Compared to the Ni-Cd phase, the transmittance of the Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ phase was found to be low. The dip in reflection loss for Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ is equivalent to the minimum reflection or the maximum absorption of the microwave power for BST phase. The maximum microwave conductivity for Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ was found to be about 0.459 S/cm. The high microwave permittivity for Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ had a value of about 120.21.     

Remarkably enhanced energy storage properties of lead-free Ba0.53Sr0.47TiO3 thin films capacitors by optimizing bottom electrode thickness

The lead-free Ba_0.53Sr_0.47TiO₃ (BST) thin films buffered with La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ (LSMO) bottom electrode of different thicknesses were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition method on a (001) SrTiO₃ substrate. It was found that the roughness of electrode decreases and substrate stress relaxes gradually with the increase of LSMO thickness, which is beneficial for weakening local high electric field and achieving higher E_b. Therefore, the recoverable energy density (W_rec) of BST films can be greatly improved up to 67.3 %, that is, from 30.6 J/cm³ for the LSMO thickness of 30 nm up to 51.2 J/cm³ for the LSMO thickness of 140 nm after optimizing the LSMO thickness. Furthermore, the thin film capacitor with a 140 nm LSMO bottom electrode shows an outstanding thermal stability from 20 °C to 160 °C and superior fatigue resistance after 10⁸ electrical cycles with only a slightly decrease of W_rec below 1.6 % and 3.7 %, respectively. Our work demonstrates that optimizing bottom electrodes thickness is a promising way for enhancing energy storage properties of thin-film capacitors.     

Improvement of dielectric breakdown strength and energy storage performance in Er2O3–modified 0.95Sr0.7Ba0.3Nb2O6-0.05CaTiO3 lead-free ceramics

In this study, 0.95?Sr_0.7Ba_0.3Nb₂O₆-0.05CaTiO₃-x wt% Er₂O₃ ceramics (SBNCTEx; x?=?0–5) were synthesized using traditional solid-state method, and we investigated the microstructure, energy storage properties as well as the relationship between dielectric breakdown strength and interfacial polarization. As compared with pure 0.95?Sr_0.7Ba_0.3Nb₂O₆-0.05CaTiO₃ ceramics, the Er₂O₃ dopants suppressed the grain growth of SBNCTEx, and the doped ones showed the dense microstructure. The secondary phase was found for x?≥?1 according to the EDS results, and the influence of the secondary phase on relative dielectric breakdown strength has also been studied. The dielectric breakdown strength increased from 18.1?kV/mm to 34.4?kV/mm, which is good for energy storage. The energy storage density of 0.28?J/cm³ and the energy storage efficiency of 91.4% were obtained in the SBNCTE5 ceramics. The results indicate that SBNCTE ceramics can be used as energy storage capacitors.